A Curious Correspondence
by sunshinelollypops
Summary: A bored Bella in biology writes in her "collection of random thoughts, poetry, short stories etc. etc." A bored Edward stumbles upon it and leaves an anonymous comment. The result? A curious correspondence between Mr. Popular and the Queen of Sarcasm..
1. Privacy

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. No copyright infringment intended.**

**Chaper 1- Privacy**

BPOV

A long time ago, in what I wished was a far away kingdom, something horrible happened. Mr and Mrs Mallory―in a time where stupidity was all the rage―decided to procreate. Nine months later and the bane of my existance popped out―_I'm assuming you all know where from_―, armed and ready to subject me to many years of aggravation, irritation, humiliation and constipation.

Just kidding about the last one.

"_Bellaaahhhh_!"

"What." I replied in a monotone, not even bothering to make my reply sound like a question.

"Hi!" Said Lauren Mallory, a smirk playing on her lips while she tried to feign innocence. It was unnecessary; we both knew her aspirations in life all centered around annoying the hell out of me. But, as always, she wanted to make it look like I was the one with the problem. To show everyone that she was just saying a "friendly hello" and I chose to be rude because Bella the Freak has issues.

Curse her.

She sauntered off as if she owned the place, swaying her hips _way too much._ Consequently, her ass went smack bang right into Eric Yorkie's pimple ridden face; he had been bending down to pick up some books scattered on the floor.

_Karma's a bitch_, I thought, right before I heard her screech as if she were in dire pain. All the while, poor Eric was clutching his now bleeding nose while looking sheepishly at her like the whole thing was his fault. As if he had crawled up to her stupid, swaying butt and purposely smashed his nose on it. And of course, she would jump at the chance to blame someone else.

And here comes the Lauren Storm in 3, 2, 1-

"What the _fuck_?" She screeched, just as I had shielded my ears with my biology books. My cochlea would not be subjected to that many decibels unprepared. Ever. I learned that the hard way. I shuddered as my mind involuntarily traced back to the day Lauren _and _Jessica had both screeched a friendly "hello Bella" in both of my poor ears _simultaneously_.

I had never truly recovered.

Eric gulped, blood leaking out of his cupped hands in his futile attempt to catch it.

By then, most of Lauren's posse, including Jessica Stanley, had come to see what all the drama was about. Most probably so that they could add to it. Eric, the poor dude―he had no idea what was about to hit him.

"That is, like, _it!_ I am, like, so sick of being violined by all the boys in this school!" _Ahh, well that is what I call bullshit._ And, I was pretty sure that it was _violated_, not violined. Poor girl couldn't even speak properly.

"Just because I'm like so pretty and hot, it does not mean that _you_," she said, as she pointed a perfectly manicured finger at Eric's trembling form, "can go near _this!_" she finished, pointing the same finger at her rear end.

_Wow, it would suck to be that finger right now. _

"Girls with asses like mine do not talk to boys with faces like yours." Okay, the only reason she almost did not butcher that sentence with an unneccessary 'like' is because she stole it from a movie. "Okay? You, like, got that?" Almost.

At that point, Eric had bled so much that if I didn't know any better than Lauren Mallory, I would say he'd had a nose haemorrhage. Lauren was still looking at him with a vindictive glare that I couldn't help but find funny. She really couldn't pull off a glare without looking like a retard. Of course, I wasn't looking at her through the eyes of every idiot adolescent male in this school. I honestly had no idea why they would fawn over her―well, not so much her but her so-called "assets"―whenever the opportunity would present itself. She had a fake tan, fake boobs, extensions...nothing about her was real. I doubted that even the company she kept, i.e. Jessica her "biffle", and various others who I neither knew nor gave a shit about, really hung out with her because of their close friendship.

Luckily for Eric, Lauren and Co. had left due to the all too familiar screeching of the bell.

_Oh how that bell reminded me of Lauren_.

I looked over at Eric. I felt really sorry for him. I mean, he wasn't even in his home country. He was an exchange student from Japan, and was staying with Mike Newton, Jessica Stanley's latest infatuation. And while we're on the subject of infatuation, Eric, who was still making a mess due to the Lauren-Mallory's-Butt-induced blood nose he had, was strangely besotted with the very blonde and beautiful Rosalie Hale.

Not that it was strange to be crushing on Rosalie. If you were my age and male you would forever be labeled gay if you didn't find Rosalie Hale appealing at the very least. It was just that Eric's crush kept bringing up a very funny image of him in a Japanese kimono, bowing and then offering her sushi as a sign of his undying love for her. And for some reason, Rosalie was in a toga. _Huh. Weird. _I shook off that thought as I walked over to Eric and helped him gather up his books.

"Arigatou Gozaimasu," he said, which I knew meant "thankyou very much" in Japanese. I just nodded and smiled, while he proceeded to bow but tripped over his own feet trying to stand up. I sighed and helped him up while trying not to get blood all over me. People would think I had had my period and then bathed in it or something. Or at least that's what Lauren would tell Jessica to tell the whole school. Eric needed to get to the sick bay, and since he still had one hand clutching his nose while the other was balancing a precariously stacked pile of books, he would need some help. I took the books from him, the covers smeared with blood, and went with Eric to the sick bay. I was going to be late to biology. This day just keeps getting better and better. He gave me an apologetic look. I smiled back: it wasn't his fault Lauren practically sat on his face.

Speaking of Lauren, I really didn't know why she hated me so much. Jessica too for that matter. It's not like I've done anything to them besides unleashing my sarcasm on them from time to time, but usually they'd reply with a very articulate "whatever, nerd" and sway their butts all the way to their next class. But it wasn't like I would've gone out of my way to annoy them like they did me. I just liked to stand up for myself once in a while, you know? There was just no way I'd let Lauren and Jessica reduce me to going Eric style, hanging my head in shame and letting them butcher my self-esteem, while simulaneously managing to do the same to the English language.

After taking Eric to the sick bay, I trudged down the deserted corridor to biology. _Hmm, I wonder if Mr. Banner will actually let me explain my tardiness..._

"Why Miss Swan, how nice of you to grace us with your presence. However, the next time you decide to do so, make sure the big hand is pointing to the twelve and the little hand is pointing to the nine. If it is not, consider yourself unable attend this class for the hour. Savvy?"

I nodded and mumbled a lame "uh huh" before walking to my seat. _Fuck you Mr. Banner._ I bet he rehearsed that line over and over just so he could sound cool.

"Did he just say savvy?" my lab partner Jacob Black asked in a hushed whisper, wearing a grimace that looked like he'd been sniffing sour milk. "Ew he did, didn't he? Seriously, who does he think he is? Jack fucking Sparrow?" I coughed, hiding a laugh, although Mr. Banner didn't look fooled.

"Nah, he's more like that squid-face guy, Davy something." I replied, the corners of my mouth twitching.

"…Bella? Maybe you can tell us the answer?" Banner smirked, raising the right side of his bushman monobrow. _Dude, you really need some tweezers. Pronto_. But then I realised that everyone was staring, waiting for my answer.

"The Krebs Cycle." Jacob whispered so that no one but me could hear. I repeated what Jake had told me, not having a clue what the question was. I watched with glee as Banner's smug face and monobrow slowly fell._ Dumbass. _For the rest of class, Jake and I stopped bagging Mr. Banner for fear of getting caught out again.

That didn't mean I was listening to him.

Instead, I pretended to be engrossed in the Forks "green-to-the-extreme" greenery outside the window as I leant my elbow on the sill. But really, I was looking at something I had engraved in the wood last year.

_E.C. + B.S._

That was, of course, before he had cheated on me with Lauren Mallory. _Disgusting pig_. Or should I say pigs?

I remembered that day, still clear as crystal in my head. Images of him with Lauren flooded my mind before I could control them. "How could you? You said you loved me..." I had said, followed by a big spiel on how I hated his guts and that he could go rot in hell, and so on and so forth. And then I cried like some pathetic loser, as if I could not go on without him. _Oh, the pain._

And then he begged me to take him back.

I told him, "Sure."

He said, "Really?!"

I said, "No."

But now that I thought about it, I was glad I wasn't with him anymore. _Good riddance I say_. He could go fuck a Care Bear because it wasn't going to bother me in the slightest. _Take that, bitch!_

I pulled out my, well I didn't really know what to call it, but I guessed you could say it was a collection of random thoughts, poetry, short stories etc. etc. It was exactly where I had left it; in a hole―in the wall-―that no one else knew about. It wasn't exactly very easy to stumble upon either, as it was hidden under a flyer that had been Blu-tacked in front in an attempt to cover up the hole. The only reason I had found it was because I had wanted to use the paper from the flyer to pass notes to Jake one day. So, I took off the flyer and found what I now used as my makeshift safe. I also used the same flyer as a door for the safe.

I looked at the patterned cover of my writing collection. I loved to write in here―it just helped me to express myself. It was _so _not a diary though. They weren't my thing. I would go crazy knowing that someone could just pick it up without my knowledge and read it.

No, a diary would make me feel vulnerable.

So, I chickened out and instead had made this little notebook into a collection of writing. But there was only one problem. I hadn't written in it since my retard ex-boyfriend, and most of my collection was centered around him. _How embarrassing,_ I thought. And here I had been bagging Eric's mad infatuation.

The class was pretty noisy at the moment, as Mr. Banner had left for a few minutes to go and get some worksheets for the class. I decided that no one would hear me if I ripped out all the pages I had written on, so I did. Jake, being right next to me, heard the ripping noise and looked at me quizzically. I just shrugged and scrunched the paper into a ball, then piffed it at the bin.

I missed.

Jake laughed, so I flipped him off and went to pick up the paper on the floor. I was about to throw it out when Jake turned his head so that he wasn't facing me. He was talking to the guy behind us. _Perfect._ Instead of throwing it out, I chucked it at his head, but he turned around just in time for the ball of paper to hit him square in the face. _Ahh, good times._ He narrowed his eyes in mock anger as he took the paper and aimed it at the opening of the bin. He shot it in perfectly. _Whatever, I'm still awesome for throwing paper at your face._

He smirked at me. I scowled and he laughed. I laughed too, as I made my way back to my seat. That was fun. Mr. Banner entered the room with a stack of papers. Right on cue, everyone groaned. _Eh, whatever._

I shifted my attention to my notebook, laying open with nothing but blank pages. I started to write, pretending I was taking notes. I finished just as the bell rang and put my notebook away in the hole, then "locking" it with the flyer. I was grateful for that hole: it gave me privacy, in a way. It would keep my writing safe. Hidden away from any prying eyes.

**A/N: Thanks for taking the time to read this! It's the first chapter of my first story. Should I continue? I'm still in high school and I need lots of constructive criticism on how I can improve my writing so please, review! I'm also open to suggestions so if you think of something let me know and I'll consider it. Also, don't be put off by thinking that Edward's a cheater, cuz there's more to it than that. Or at least, it won't be what you expect, promise :) Please review..? =D**

**x**


	2. Prying Eyes

**A/N: To FangedLeaf and blackmist101, thankyou so much for reviewing!**

**And here is chapter two. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. No copyright infringement intended.**

**Chapter 2- Prying Eyes**

BPOV

I woke the next day feeling like something was out of place. I looked out the window of my bedroom and something still felt out of place. It was sunny for once, but that wasn't the weird part. It looked too sunny for it to be seven in the morning. I looked at my clock only to have my suspiscions confirmed. It was 10.30. I had slept in. I leaned over to check my timetable for the day.

Period 1: Trigonometry

Period 2: Gym

Period 3: Banner the fuckface...

I didn't even bother to check the rest of my timetable. I had biology in fifteen minutes, so I was going to walk in late again. What a wonderful world this is. Why oh why couldn't I have biology at nine like I do on a Monday? I could have slept through it! But no, I had to have it at 10.45. Banner is going to have a fucking hissy fit. Actually, now that I thought about it, I probably could have had biology at nine with the other class. The only other biology class, because Forks High is tiny. But no, my schedule was retarded. Like Banner.

I got to school at 10.50 and approached the door to biology shortly after gathering my books. And I was actually trembling and shaking like a fucking jackhammer. I had no idea that I was so terrified to face the wrath of Mr. Banner. But just as that thought popped into my head I forced it out; I sounded like some lame-ass wuss. Hell no, I was gonna face this bitch. I opened the door and walked right in, chin up and shoulders back. I imagine I would have looked somewhat demented but who cares when Banner looked so angry shit was about to come out of his ears.

I expected him to say something but his monobrow did this freaky thing that nearly made me jump coz right now that monobrow had me scared shitless. Fuck, how did he do that? That had to be the scariest, most nightmare-inducing eyebrow trick ever. He was seething, beyond words, and although he wasn't speaking he was still frothing at the mouth. I was too frightened to be grossed out by that.

"Sit. Down." He said, spit flying out of his mouth. That man needed to arrange for some anger management or something. I backed away slowly like he was armed with a machine gun. I took my seat and saw that even Jake was too scared to make any remarks.

A few more minutes into the class, Banner had calmed down and had everyone working on a few questions from the textbook. I decided it was safe for me to write in my notebook again, so I retrieved it and opened up to the next blank page. I began to write a poem about betrayal when I realised that I had subconsciously based it on my ex-boyfriend. I sighed in frustration and looked at the carving again.

_E.C + B.S_

Fuck you Embry Call. I should never have trusted him. I was over him now, but that didn't mean I had escaped the heartache altogether. He and Lauren deserve each other, I thought bitterly.

I flipped back to what I had written yesterday in class. Maybe that could inspire a different topic to write about. I looked down at my page and froze. Green pen. I never wrote in green pen. And that elegant script. What the fuck? But there they were, foreign green words written neatly in the space underneath my messy scawls from yesterday; glaring up at me as if they were daring me to read them. Curiosity overtook my disfunctional brain as I read the message:

_Haha this describes Lauren perfectly, I'm actually trying not to laugh out loud. It's refreshing to see someone speak the truth, keep going. _

_Yours sincerely,_

_...hmm, I think I'll remain anonymous for now._

A sudden wave of anger overcame me as I finished reading the note. Some dickhead had read my work. _My work._ You'd think that they'd take the hint that it was private; it was hidden in the wall for fuck's sake! How did this loser find it? My thoughts had been violated by a stranger. This is why I don't keep diaries. And the fuckface didn't even tell me his name. Coward. He was probably scared I'd chainsaw his dick off and make him eat with bread and ketchup. Or better, I could force feed it to Banner.

But then I re-read the comment and the anger quickly subsided, replaced with a burning curiosity. Who was this anonymous dude? And why did he say he would remain anonymous _for now_? Did that mean he expected me to reply to him? I was too intrigued to be pissed anymore, so I wrote a quick note underneath his in my purple gel pen:

_Fine, be anonymous, but that means I can be too...unless you know who I am?_

I put my notebook back in its proper place just as the bell rang. I wonder if this guy will actually reply. I shook off that thought. It was probably a once off. I shouldn't feel so fucking anxious, for all I know this guy could be weird, stupid, or both i.e. Mike Newton.

I huffed in annoyance as I realised that that was probably the case. And I hate to admit I actually felt disappointed. Just a little.

I walked out to lunch with Jake and sat at our usual table with a few friends. There was Angela, her boyfriend Ben, Jake, his girlfriend Nessie, and then me, forever the single pringle. And I won't deny that sometimes I felt like a bit of a fifth wheel. Especially when Jake and Nessie first started going out. No matter where I looked my eyes would inevitably find them sucking face with absolutely no shame at all. Angela and Ben were a little better though, but did slip up occasionally. But now it didn't happen as much as before, Alleluia to that.

"So Bella, how was biology?" Angela asked me.

"Splendid." I said in a terrible English accent.

"That bad, huh?" Said Ben.

"Haha you have no idea. Banner had a tantrum, tell 'em Bells." Jake laughed noisily.

"Fuck, that shit was terrifying. No, I'm serious! Geez Louise, he practically shit his pants he was so angry. I would have laughed, but I was scared he was gonna pounce on me and claw my face like a goddamn puma." Everyone was laughing now, so much so that it had turned into silent laughter. You know, the kind where you haven't got enough oxygen to make any noise so you're just wearing this weird laugh-grin but no sound is coming out? Yeah, that kind. Jake had visible trails of tears down his cheeks. Nessie was choking on some lettuce. What a Kodak moment. Damn, I wish I had a camera.

"So why was Banner so pissed?" Nessie asked, once the laughing had stopped and she had successfully digested her salad.

"She was late," Jake cut in, smirking, "again."

"Well exsqueeze me, it's not my fault I accidentally set my alarm clock to 7pm instead of 7am."

"Um, well actually it is."

"Eh oh well. Who cares. Oh yeah, Banner does. Loser..." But no one was paying attention anymore because their gazes were all fixed on something else. I followed their gaze and my eyes locked with two emerald orbs. And then I took in everything attached to said orbs. Beautiful.

EPOV

Perfection. Her big liquid chocolate eyes had me immobolized. And her hair was a luscious brown tone. Her cheeks were tinted a beautiful rose colour, and her full pink lips looked so soft. I just wanted to cup her face in my hands and kiss those soft, plump lips; take her bottom lip and bite gently...

"Hey sexy," I was broken out of my reverie by a voice I had already decided I hated. Lauren Mal-something I think her name was. But quite frankly, I didn't care. I didn't want her company. I was new to the school, arrived just yesterday with my older brother Emmett, who was a senior, and my younger sister Alice, who was a sophomore. I was a junior, and although we had only been here for a day and a bit, it felt like a lot had happened. Like yesterday when Lauren was walking really weirdly and ended up shoving her butt in some poor boy's face. And he ended up taking the blame for it! Lauren and her whole group are such bitches. Especially her and that Jessica chick. Lauren was staring at me freakishly, even though she was probably aiming for sexy. And then I realised she was waiting for a response from me.

"Uh, hi." I said, wanting to leave.

"Hi yourself, I'm Lauren, but you can call me...um...like...Lauren," She finished awkwardly, after realising that she didn't have a nickname.

"Okay, that's great, but-"

"Walk me to my next class. It's like in the room next to the girls' bathroom."

"But, um, isn't that the broom closet...?" I was truly afraid now. She winked at me. Oh hell no.

"I have to go now, bye!" I said before speed walking in the opposite direction to go find Em or Alice or someone who wouldn't make me feel uncomfortable.

That Lauren girl was not going to take the hint, I could already tell. I didn't want to be rude, but to her I'd probably find that I could't help it. Ditto for Jessica. I smiled, remembering what I had read from that hidden notebook in biology. It made me laugh, especially when Lauren's description matched up perfectly with her in real life. I can still remember it word for word:

(A/N: Sing this to yourself to the tune of the first verse of Katy Perry's 'Ur So Gay')

_This is for all the Lauren Mallory's out there_

_I hope you hang yourself with your fake-ass hair_

_While fucking Mike as if Jess isn't there_

_You talk like a retard and walk like one too_

_You smashed Eric's nose, now it's black and blue_

_Your stupid voice reminds me of a fire truck_

_You squeal and screech, now my ears are fucked up_

_Your tits are so big they could feed New York_

_But that would be gross, no thanks I'll have pork._

I laughed my way down to calculus, thinking about whoever had written that. The only reason I had found that notebook was because I had run out of Blu-Tack and so I decided to take some off the back of the flyer. But then I found the hole in the wall, containing the notebook. I wondered if the owner had received my comment that I had left. I could only hope that they wouldn't be offended I had read their work; I didn't want to pry.

**A/N: Thanks for reading my story! I hope the whole thing with Bella's ex wasn't confusing. I'd just like to make it clear that E.C was Embry Call [not Edward Cullen]. Please review....? =].....pleaseee?**

**x**


	3. Volturi & A Wall

**A/N: Thankyou to blackmist101, KezzstaCullen, monamai and salvor-chan for reviewing!**

…**but a little birdie *cough**story traffic**cough* told me I have loads of readers out there who are not reviewing!! Please take the time, even if it's to tell me there's something you do not like about my story because all feedback is valuable to me and the more reviews I get the faster the updates will be.**

**Disclaimer: I'm not Stephenie Meyer, I don't own Twilight. No copyright infringement intended.**

**Chapter 3- Volturi & A Wall**

BPOV

I felt like crap as I trudged down the hallway and up the stairs to my next class. I knew Mr. Green-Eyed Sex On Legs wouldn't take any interest in me whatsoever. He made that pretty obvious when Lauren had started talking to him. But stupid me had hoped. Argh, I can't believe how upset and annoyed this guy is making me! I don't even know his name! But he's so..._beautiful_. I know that makes him sound like a woman, but it really is the only word that comes even remotely close to being worthy of describing him. And his _eyes_, oh my goodness I could get lost in them. I can't believe I'm even thinking these things, they're so gooey and...and...and just not _me._ Bella Swan is _not_ a romantic! And yet I kept thinking about the way his jade eyes held mine, imagining how it would feel to run my fingers through his soft, auburn hair...

And because I'm so graceful, as my surname would suggest, I crashed into a wall. Can comeone say ouch? But then the wall began to move, because it turns out the wall was a person. And for the second time that day, my eyes locked with his emerald ones. And they stayed locked, neither of us willing to let go.

"Are you okay?" He asked, concerned; his muscular arms wrapped around my waist, keeping me steady.

"Yeah, I guess...?" I replied, but it sounded like I had asked a question. I couldn't concentrate: his body was so close to mine.

"I'm Edward Cullen, I'm new here," he said, then let go of me, much to my disappointment, and blushed. How strange. He looked down at his feet, then back up at me as if he were embarrassed about something; he looked so cute I just wanted to kiss him. Behave Bella, he probably thinks you're a clumsy idiot.

"I'm Bella. Bella Swan," I replied, then mentally cringed for sounding too much like James Bond. He smiled at me, "What do you have next?" I asked, feeling bold.

"Well, I'm supposed to go to room S55, but I have no idea where that is," he shrugged.

"That's in the music department, I'm going there now, I could show you the way," I suggested nervously.

"Thanks, that would be great," He replied, smiling.

I said goodbye to him after taking him to his class, then made my way to my singing class a few rooms down. This class was much, much smaller than all of my others; I liked it this way. There was only me, Nessie and Rosalie, although I didn't talk to Rose much because although she wasn't horrible like Lauren and Jessica, she still hung out with them. I walked in and saw that we had a substitute teacher for the period. It was Mr. Volturi, but most of the students called him Aro. I had only had him once before in Biology when Mr. Banner was sick. It was the best biology lesson ever. Especially because Aro didn't know a thing about Biology so the whole class just slacked off the entire lesson. But that's not the only reason why Aro is awesome. Aro is also hilarious, or as he puts it: "high-lahhhh-rrious darhhlings". Yes, Aro is pretty funny for a teacher, in a Karson Kressley kind of way. Because yes, he is also gay.

He usually teaches drama, so you couldn't expect him to know biology, but singing, on the other hand, does count as performing arts and yet I'm almost certain he can't do that either. So why did the school hire him? Because he can put together a good show. And although I couldn't be stuffed actually going to any of them, I had heard last year's was good.

I was looking around the room when all of a sudden I was attacked by an unseen force. It pulled me into a bone-crushing hug, then released me. I looked up, expecting to see the face of whoever had tackled me, but saw nothing but empty space. But as my gaze lowered, further and further, I found myself looking at someone who could've passed as one of Snow White's seven dwarves. Or Tinkerbell. She grinned and introduced herself.

"Alice Cullen," she announced proudly. Alice Cullen. Edward Cullen. So they're brother and sister. Wow, they look nothing alike.

"Bella Swan," I replied, still shaken from her death hug. Apparently I wasn't doing a good job of hiding this because Nessie laughed.

"She did it to me too. You'll get used to it."

Alice grinned and I couldn't help but grin back. "I'm new here," she informed me, "I moved from Chicago with my parents and two brothers. They're older than me, I'm a sophomore. I know you guys are all juniors but there weren't any singing classes for sophomores, and since this class is so small Mrs. Cope said there was no point in making another when I could just join your class. So here I am!" she clapped her hands and bounced up and down. We all laughed, including Aro. This girl was going to be fun.

"Okay girls!" Said Aro, "Guess who's super excited about this year's musical? No one! Because I haven't announced it yet!" We all laughed as Aro continued, despite the fact that we weren't even in his drama class. "You girls will be the first to know what we're doing, simply because I only decided last period and you happened to be my next class, but whatever!! I was so excited, I just had to tell someone. Now, we all know I'm the fairy godmother of musicals, which is why I've decided to write my own. Well, sort of. It's going to be a musical version of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince! Anyone interested?"

I was shocked. Dumfounded. I take back what I said about Aro knowing how to put on a good show. Because seriously, WHO THE FUCK DOES A HARRY POTTER MUSICAL?!?!??? And why is it Harry Potter six? Usually people would start at number one, _if_ they were dumb enough to choose Harry Potter in the first place!

"Um, Aro," Rosalie began, her voice showing that she was clearly thinking the same thing as me, "I don't think that's such a good idea."

"Why not?"

"Because... umm..." Nessie struggled to think of how to phrase it, but there simply was no nice way to break it to him, "...well um, nobody really does a Harry Potter musical. And don't you think it'll be a little hard to understand for those who haven't read or watched Harry Potter one to five?"

"Nonsense, nonsense, I can make this work! I have my vision of how this year's musical will turn out and, while I appreciate your criticism, I will see this through! Can someone say _Expecto Patronum_?!" he bounced up and down in his seat, currently the most obtuse human in the continental U.S. I just shook my head and let it go. He just didn't get it. I looked over at Nessie and Rose and could see that their expressions mirrored mine. But Alice's didn't.

"I think it's a great idea Aro!" she said, and I couldn't believe my ears. "Not just the part about the musical being centered around Harry Potter, but also the part about starting at number six! Because this means that those who _have_ read numbers one to five can enjoy a storyline that is more complex than the first Harry Potter book. Also, for those who have not read the other Harry Potter books, this will encourage them to do so and that way everyone can enjoy it! Also, the idea of doing Harry Potter is original, or uncommon at the very least! I like it!"

"Thankyou Alice! Of course, I will have to write a script and compose some catchy tunes, as this is a musical, not a movie. And if you're interested, auditions will be sometime next week. I'll let you know if I bump into you, but if I don't, keep an eye out for the notice board or come see me at the drama studio. Super!" Aro grinned like the cheshire cat from Alice in Wonderland. Ironically, at Alice.

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. I thought about Aro and his crazy musical. No way in hell am I signing up for that. I jumped into my truck and started heading home. As I pulled into the driveway, I noticed my mum and dad standing there. I smiled, they're such great parents, I love them both. They had married fresh out of high school and, soon after, had me. But my jaw dropped as I saw what was a pile of suitcases packed and stacked into the boot of a taxi I had just noticed, parked on the other side of the street.

"You guys are going on holiday without me?" I asked them, as I walked up the driveway until I was a foot away from them. I looked at them, annoyed. "Well?" No response. "Oh my god, you are! I can't believe this! Would it kill you to at least tell me rather than just up and go? Arghh how-"

"Bella..." I looked up at Charlie and saw that he had been crying. Charlie never cried. My mum unexpectedly gave me a quick hug, then told me that she loved me before turning away and walking off toward the taxi. The taxi drove away, and Charlie began to sob. And I finally understood. I helped my dad into the house and onto a couch. I realised now that Renee had just walked out on us, but I was confused about why. I thought things were good with her and Charlie. And now they go and break up? Why did she do that? Is there someone else? I felt so horrible for Charlie. He loves her, this must be breaking him. His sobs faded as he drifted to sleep. But he didn't look peacful as one usually would when in a slumber; no, it was more like he had run out of energy and the only thing his body could do now was rest. He looked more like he was unconscious rather than asleep; like his body had been forced to give in.

And suddenly, in the absence of Charlie's sobs, silent tears began to fall from my eyes. Things would never be the same without Renee. I loved my mum so much, how could I live without her? I had absolutely no idea where she was going, but worst of all, whether or not she would miss us. Because I sure as hell will miss her, and clearly Charlie felt the same. I prayed for her to come back, as a lump rose in my throat, bringing on a fresh round of tears. I tried to keep as silent as possible for Charlie, clamping my mouth shut to stop any cries from escaping. My mother had abandoned me. She had abandoned Charlie. She didn't love us. How could I not cry? She had gotten into that taxi and let herself get taken away. I felt so hurt, too hurt to sleep. So I didn't, and as dawn broke Charlie woke.

I had expected him to start sobbing again, or to yell or shout or _something_, but instead he got up off the couch, smoothed out his shirt, and casually asked me if I wanted breakfast. I asked him if he wanted to talk about it; he asked me what did I mean. I told him I meant that he should talk about what happened with Renee last night and he just brushed it off as if it were no big deal. I knew what he was doing; I had watched Dr. Phil enough times already to know that he was blocking me out. Blocking everyone and everything out. Even his feelings. He didn't want to deal with them, so he was shutting down. He probably figured if his feelings were hurting him, then all he had to do was get rid of them and the hurt would go away. But he was burying them, he wasn't rid of them. They would surface sooner or later and it would hurt even more. How could Renee do this to him?

I looked at the clock and realised I was going to be late for school if I didn't hurry up. I didn't want to go, I wanted to stay with Charlie. I told him that, but he wouldn't allow it. He said I was fussing for no reason and that my old man would be just fine. I sighed as I pulled myself into my truck and drove off to school.

I sat down in fifth period biology, for once getting there on time. I had no idea who to talk to. Don't get me wrong, I have great friends. It's not like they're not trustworthy; it's just that Jake's dad, Billy Black, is really close with my dad. I know that if I tell Jake it'll probably help Charlie seeing as Jake could get Billy to talk to him, but on the other hand, I didn't want to do that today. Sure, I'd probably tell Jake tomorrow, but I just couldn't do that today. I wasn't ready for Jake and Billy to know, and somehow it didn't feel right if I told Angie, Ben or Nessie, and not Jake. Besides, I felt like Billy should be hearing it from Charlie, not me. And I don't think I could handle talking face to face right now either.

I pulled out my notebook thinking that maybe I could write down my feelings here. But then I remembered anonymous dude, and how he was reading my work. I huffed, annoyed. I wasn't angry with this guy anymore, but I really needed my privacy now, which had just recently been invaded by him. I opened the book.

More green pen. He had replied.

_No, I don't know who you are, but I'd like to get to know you, you seem interesting. And don't worry, I'm not some stupid person like Mike Newton. So...how has your week been? _

_From...hmm, you can call me Enigmatic Correspondent. _

_Write back soon, x_

As I read the note, a crazy thought popped into my mind. Should I, or shouldn't I?

Should I confide in a complete stranger, choose a stranger over my friends?

Why would I even consider this?

But I already knew the answer; it's like what I said before. I couldn't talk face to face yet.

Whoever this guy is, whatever he's like, doesn't matter. Because I don't have to know his name, or know what he looks like, or anything like that. I can try this out, and if it doesn't work , I don't ever have to speak to him again.

His opinions wouldn't be biased because he wouldn't know who I was, and my response to his opinions wouldn't be biased because I wouldn't know who he was. And we wouldn't even have to speak face to face.

I thought about Charlie and the wall he had put up due to what Renee had done to him- done to us. Maybe this Enigmatic Correspondent guy could give me some help, because god knows I need it. If this is what can help me to help Charlie break down that wall of his, then I'm willing, I thought, as I began to write.

**A/N: Review! **

**REVIEW!!!!!!! **


	4. Shackles, Laps & Push Ups

**Thanks to all who reviewed, and I apologize for the long wait. But here's a long chapter to make up for it! And thanks to my beta Pastiche Pen- as of this chapter, my grammar will no longer suck and humour will be more humourous and less awkward. Yay!**

**Disclaimer: I'm not smeyer, I don't own it **

**Now read on!**

**Chapter 4: Shackles, Laps & Push Ups**

EPOV

_(The next day)_

I woke feeling extremely sore. So, as one would do in a situation like this, I decided to stretch.

But I couldn't—I was _stuck_.

It felt like my wrists and ankles were soldered to the corners of the bed frame. My shoulders were about to pop out of their sockets and my knees could dislocate any moment now.

_Why the fuck can't I move?_

I moved my arms just a _teensy tiny_ bit when I heard it.

Jingle

jingle

jingle

I moved my feet.

Jingle

jingle

jingle.

I moved both my feet and arms.

Jingle

jingle

jingle

I thrashed wildly, desperate to be free from my constraints, while my very own Jingle Bell Rock resonated around the room.

What a perfect moment for Emmett to walk in on. And he was singing.

"Take the shackles off my feet so I can dance," I fucking hate this song, "I just wanna praise you. I just wanna praise y-"

Emmett took one look at me and lost it.

He was in hysterics at the foot of my bed, laughing with one hand clutching his stomach while the other holding a camera and—oh fuck, he just took a picture of me.

He showed me the photo.

Well, fuck.

I'm glad _someone_ thought it was hilarious to handcuff me to the bed. I knew I should have gotten rid of that bondage kit when I had the chance.

You see, Emmett gave me the kit for my sixteenth birthday as a gag gift. I had refused to keep it for fear of my parents possibly finding it in my room accidently, or even Emmett showing them on purpose.

So I let Emmett keep it.  
Because I'm stupid.

"Your...face...haha...Eddie...you kinky boy! ...ohmahgosh, CARLISLE!! Eddie has a...surpr...surprise f...for y-okay—geez, Eddiiieeehhh calm down, don't shit yourself...no, seriously! Don't coz that would smell really, REALLY bad...if you need to do a number two...then just get up and...go to...the...toile-well actually that would...be a...problem right now...considering your...current...ahem...situation...hahaaa...man I'm hilarious!"

"Delete. The. Fucking. Picture."

"Heeheee...NO!!"

I couldn't believe my life and dignity lay in the ruthless, trick-playing, fuckwit hands of my brother.

"DUDE!" Said Fuckwit, "This is a sexy pic. Absolutely gorgeous. I wonder if the rest of Forks High would agree..."

"Emmett," I said, my tone warning.

"I accept all forms of bribery." He said before running to the other side of the room—but not before putting the keys next to my left ear, on the pillow.

The keys were still next to my ear, but I couldn't reach out and grab them due to obvious reasons, so I had to crane my neck and try to grab them with my teeth.

I heard a faint beeping noise.

I looked over at Fuckface and froze.

_He was recording this?_

"Keep goin' Eddie. This is gold!"

_What the fuck had I done to deserve this?_

"Chop chop, we haven't got all day!"

He was enjoying this _way _too much.

I groaned and turned my face so I was facing the keys. Hmm... maybe if I could just...

"Oh Eddie, I had no idea you felt that way about my keys! You're already giving them tongue..."

I ignored him and continued trying to hook the ring holding the key with my tongue.

It slipped off the pillow and out of reach.

"Take the shackles off my feet so I ca-"

"Shut up Emmett, you can't sing! Argh!" I yelled in frustration; I even thrashed about some more for emphasis.

"Well at least I can dance. Unlike you. Wha the fuck was that just then? You looked like you were seizing."

"I wasn't trying to dance! I was pissed and so I reacted accordingly."

"Whatever. You looked like a squirrel on drugs. Anywho, here's my dilemma. Do I free you or just leave you here...?"

I glared.

"Okay, sheesh. I've got enough to blackmail you with anyway."

Dickface finally stopped recording my biting attempts. He took the keys, unlocking the handcuffs, and got an earful from me. I swore more than that dude off _Snakes on a Plane._ Esme would have had a fit if she heard me.

"Eddie sometimes you're a real bitch. My feelings are hurt because of you." Emmett wailed, doing a superb job of not shitting himself laughing. "Arghh you just DON'T UNDERSTAND! Nobody understands me!" He sulked, a perfect imitation of one of those overly dramatic soaps on T.V. "And don't come after me because I just don't wanna talk about it right now!" He slammed the door. I could hear him laughing while singing _Shackles_ all through the hallway.

After Emmett left to go annoy Carlisle, I showered and dressed for school, my muscles still in agony.

As I dragged myself down the hallway with Alice, my schoolbag smacking against my already sore back, I saw Alice's face light up—something had caught her eye. She made a beeline towards a notice board full of various bulletins, off-putting to read as they were all splayed about on the board, a mess of bad WordArt and text. Her eyes were fixed on a green piece of paper with red and blue writing:

_**Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince**_

_Get ready because Hogwarts is coming to Forks High!  
You're invited to join Harry, Ron and Hermione on this interesting and, dare I say, hilarious adventure. _

_Heck, you're invited to __be_ _them! _

_You can be part of the cast and crew of my (Mr. Volturi, call me Aro) production; _

_You will love the script and songs—they're all written by me!  
So fish out that pen and sign up below!  
SIGN UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!_

The signup sheet had enough room to fit at least 1000 names. I laughed to myself—who would sign up for this? This Aro guy was certainly ambitious—you would need three times the students at this school to fill up that signup sheet.

No way in hell would I ever do a Harry Potter musical.

I turned to walk away, catching a glimpse of Alice out of the corner of my eye, already scribbling her name onto the green piece of paper.

BPOV

Nothing could compensate for Renee leaving.

A girl needs her mother.  
Mine had left.

And I worried about Charlie. It was like he remained with me only in a physical sense—the rest of him followed Renee out the door and out of Forks. Charlie sat at the table, eating his breakfast, one corn flake at a time. No, his _body_ was doing the eating—_Charlie_ was staring at a framed photo of the three of us, laughing and smiling at the beach. I was about four and sat on his shoulders with one hand holding onto his hair and the other holding a red bucket of sand with a yellow spade poking out.

Charlie shifted in his seat and turned to look at me, wearing a weak smile. "Bells, you should probably get going, you'll be late for school. And no buts, I'll be fine—don't worry."

There was no point in arguing, so I trudged out the door with my bag slung over my shoulder. I really needed to think of some way to help Charlie soon.

**. . . **

Gym was terrible. The end.

_(Flashback)_

_Dodgeball. _

_Fuck._

_Fuck fuck fuck._

_I approached the courts cautiously, even though the game hadn't started yet. Lauren and Jessica positioned themselves right behind me._

_I tried to shift spots to get away from them but Coach Clapp blew the whistle. _

_The game begun._

_Mike Newton was on the same team as me and was about to serve._

_I was facing the other team, expecting the ball to go flying over my head and onto their court. But then-_

"_GAH!" I yelped as the ball hit me square in the back of my head. _

_I lost my balance, and clumsy as ever, tripped over nothing and tumbled to the ground._

_I groaned and closed my eyes. I had a massive headache._

_Then suddenly I heard a familiar wail, followed by a panicked voice._

"_Oh my gosh! Jess, are you alright?"_

_What the fuck? I'm Bella, not Jess._

_I heard the wail again, followed by several "ow"s ._

"_Jess is hurt, Coach Clapp!"_

_She probably broke a nail._

_I sighed and pealed my eyelids open. I just caught a glimpse of Jess clutching her chest, when Angela came rushing to me._

"_Bella! You okay? Sorry I didn't come faster, I didn't see you: everyone was crowding around Jess."_

"_What happened?" I asked wearily._

"_Haha, guess what? When Mike was serving, Jess was side on, half facing him instead of facing the other team. Mike did a pretty lousy serve and the ball didn't get much height. And Jess was too busy ogling Mike to notice the ball coming straight at her. It hit her left boob! Pretty hard too. Ha! But then it ricocheted of her boob and into your head. Which sucks."_

_I snorted; it was too funny. The headache was so worth this._

"_Bella, I need to go get changed, will you be okay?" I nodded. "Cool, see you at Vocals!"_

_I sighed and got up slowly, stretching. What a crappy day this is._

"_Bella, Bella, Bella, what am I going to do with you?" Coach Clapp suddenly appeared out of nowhere._

"_Uh...what?"_

"_I haven't seen your mother around lately. And Chief Swan is looking quite glum. Just as glum as I felt when I broke my arm...it was terrible... I couldn't do push-ups for a month..."_

"_What are you saying?"_

"_I'm saying that I can smell a divorce. Just like I can smell the glorious smell of sweat after doing my moring workout session...I've been getting quite buff too..."_

"_How do you know about this?" What the fuck? I had only told E.C. about my parents in my letter. And E.C. didn't know who I was!_

"_It's obvious. Renee- well she hasn't been coming to the gym lately. Chief Swan has been moping around, not his usual cheerful self. I told him he should do some sit-ups: that usually makes me feel better. But he just ignored me. I'm guessing it must be pretty bad if sit-ups aren't working."_

_I thought he was joking, but I could tell by his expression that he was serious. _

_Oh, but how could I forget. Coach Clapp was obsessed with sport. If sport was a person, he'd be their stalker._

"_So how do you feel about all this?"_

"_Um, I dunno. I don't really wanna talk about it."_

"_Well I'm a perseptive fellow. I can see that your upset about this. Clearly, you need to do some chin-ups."_

"_I'll be fine th-" _

"_Or we could do weightlifting. Maybe one day you'll be as buff as me..."_

"_Yeah, um, I'll think about it."_

"_Okay, but remember: 'A push-up a day keeps your troubles away'. That's my philosophy on life." he said before taking a swig from his Gatorade bottle._

_What. The. Fuck? 'A push-up a day keeps your troubles away'? He is all kinds of demented. I need to avoid him and his chin-ups as much as possible, I thought._

_(End Flashback)_

Just as I met Alice, who suggested that we walk to Vocals together, Coach Clapp called my name. I turned around to see him jogging towards us, the bulky metal whistle around his neck bouncing up and down, just begging to be smashed into his flushed face.

"Bella! There you are!"

"Here I am!" Note the sarcasm.

"So, I have the _perfect _solution to your troubles. Extracurricular sports! Unless you prefer to do the chin-ups, which of course is perfectly fi-"

"Have you seen me in gym? No offence, but putting me on a sports team would just create more opportunity for me to injure my fellow teammates."

"On the contrary, I think it will be a good thing. Joining a team I meant—not the injuries... sports is just so awesome..."

"Thanks for your advice, but I really have to say no."

"But Bella, doing extracurricular sports will help you. Or even sit-ups-"

"She can do the musical with me! That's extracurricular!" Alice exclaimed.

"Now hang on there," Coach Clapp began, "just because it's extracurricular, it doesn't mean Bella should do it. She can't just do any old thing; after all, we all want a happier, more cheerful Bella. And we all know that 'a push-up a day keeps your troubles away'. That's right, a _push-up_. Not a musical. So that's out of the question."

"Actually, I'm pretty sure that push-ups are going to be in the musical. Which we will rehearse, so Bella will get her 'push-up a day'." Alice lied through her teeth.

Stupid, stupid, stupid, I thought, as Coach Clapp smiled at Alice, telling her that yes, a musical would be a great idea- provided that there be push-ups- and thanks for the suggestion.

I was pissed, to say the least. I hadn't asked for a Cullen-Clapp intervention. Especially one that results in me signing up for a Harry Potter musical. How dense could Alice be? Was she really so oblivious to the fact that I did not want to be in the musical? I would have preferred the chin-ups and weightlifting session with Coach Clapp anytime.

"Oh, come on Bella, don't be so sullen—it'll be fun!" Alice said, as we stopped in front of the musical signup sheet. She signed me up, much to my annoyance.

"Fun? Ha! What a twisted view of fun you have, my dear sophomore. No, when I see the words 'Harry Potter Musical', I think 'run', not 'fun.'"

"Eh, suck it up. Besides, you should be thanking me: I got him off your back. And I heard about what happened with Jessica's boob. Haha. Though I'm sorry about your head. Still, if it makes you feel any better, I heard that Coach Clapp made Jessica run a lap around the oval afterwards, elbows to knees. It was supposed to 'make her feel better'. Coz nothing cures sore boobs faster than a lap around the oval!" Alice laughed, cleverly shifting the topic of conversation from me to ridiculing Jessica. I laughed anyway: the mental image was just too funny.

Vocals with our usual teacher was quite uneventful—unlike the lesson we had with Aro. Although I temporarily detest him; he is, after all, the idiot who thought of doing Harry Potter as the musical. The musical which I've been coerced into doing.

The bell for lunch sounded, and boy, was I hungry.

As my friends and I made our way to the lunch line, I saw Edward sitting at his table with his brother—Emmett, Alice had said his name was. He was very muscular, almost too muscular to still be in high school and was grinning a big, toothy grin, showing some dimples that made him look surprisingly cute, in a big teddy bear kind of way.

And right on cue, Lauren and Jessica strutted their stuff into the cafeteria. Lauren and Jessica joined the two boys at their table. Jessica sat on Emmett's lap...and Lauren plunked down on Edward's.

That stung. I knew it shouldn't hurt me that Edward was so comfortable with Lauren doing that. But it did. And that annnoyed me to no end. But who am I kidding? Edward would never be interested in me. I shouldn't be getting my hopes up. I should be expecting rejection; after all, Renee rejected Charlie and me. How could Edward want me when even my own mother didn't?

I couldn't keep up with my friends' conversation.

Not because they were quiet—no.

But because… and I can't believe I'm admitting to this, all my focus was on Edward.

Pathetic, I know.  
Pathetic, pathetic, pathetic.  
Shut up, okay? I know.

I could hear their conversation if I strained my ears:

"Eddiiieeee, come to my party!" Lauren giggled in her nasal tone.

"Yeahhh Eddie, pleaseee????" Jessica whined.

"Oh, come on, Edward, it'll be fun!" chirped Alice, like a moron. I hadn't even noticed her until now—and what was with all the "it'll be fun" business?

"Um, I kinda have something on...but I guess I can come." Edward smiled. I just about growled.

The lunch line hadn't moved at all, so I went back to my table, irritated. I knew I had no right to be irritated—it's not like Edward and I are besties. It's just that I didn't think _that_ would be how Edward would turn out.

But I had been a tad naïve.

Why would someone so gorgeous and destined for popularity stay away from Lauren and Jessica? Lauren still sat in Edward's lap. He had made no effort to get her off him.

And I was so onto him. He seems to be a pro at this, being popular that is. Before, with all the 'I kinda have something on' crap- that's code for "I want my presence to be in demand, rather than taken for granted". Like I said, he's a pro. He's probably expecting people to beg him to come to their parties from now on. To choose their party over someone else's, since he's so "in demand".

So he really was a one of those guys—the so called "populars."

A part of that group.  
Or at least, planning on joining it.

He was currently laughing at something Emmett said, still totally at ease with Lauren and being surrounded by her clones.

Ugh, that's it.

From now on, I will ignore him, I decided.

EPOV

Em and I had learnt our lessons the first time—so we just 'put up and shut up'. Lauren's uninvited butt still smothered my lap, and Emmett was in the same boat, only with Jessica. Yesterday after school Lauren and Jessica had come and sat on us when we were sitting on the hood of my Volvo.

Em had abandoned me in my hour of need, giving some bullshit about him forgetting to take home his notes to study—he was "pretty sure" he left them in his locker. No need to wait—he would walk home.

So, Jessica, in need of a lap to sit on, tried to sit on me.  
Even though my lap was already occupied by Lauren.  
Who _apparently_ had staked her claim on my lap already.  
Which _apparently _was totally unfair on Jessica.

Two girls. One lap. There could only be one winner.

And hey presto, World War III ensues.

Jessica was convinced that her mini-skirt would "like, get all wrecked and stuff" if it came into direct contact with the hood of my car. And plus, "it's what Emmett would have wanted"- _apparently_ Emmett just wouldn't have it if Jessica were to ruin her skirt (although generally skirts tended to _cover_ one's ass, not leave it exposed for the world to see) so it was perfectly justified for Jessica to have my lap instead of Lauren.

Lauren alternatively decided that some slapping and hair pulling was in order. For Jessica, not me. So Lauren finally got off my lap to harass her biffle and I no longer had to worry about whether or not Lauren would spontaneously fart on me. After all, her butt had been right on top of my lap for quite some time. It would have been horrific if Lauren just happened to let one rip and all I could do was sit there and endure it.

When I got home that afternoon, Emmett copped an earful from me. Needless to say, we both agreed that we would never leave the other to fend alone ever again.

So if we didn't like Lauren and Jessica, then why didnt we just tell 'em to piss off?

Because Em has the hots for Rosalie Hale! Who, unfortunately, hangs out with Bimbo 1 and 2.

And he begged me not to leave him alone in idiot territory. Alice was insufficient—he still needed another male lap for Lauren. Traumatized by my story from yesterday, we both agreed history should not repeat itself.

At all costs.

And I don't doubt for a second that Alice will force me to go to the bimbo gathering. She nearly reached over and strangled me when I said that I "kinda had something on"- hey, I just wanted to get out of going to the party, but no, Alice insists. So I agreed to come quietly, if not for Alice, then for Em; he _really _seemed to like Rosalie. And we both knew that without me, there once again would be a lap shortage.

BPOV

The end-of-lunch bell sounded. I rose out of my seat, bid my dear friends farewell and left for my literature class. Lauren shoved past me, her butt swishing and swaying like a tree in a cyclone.

Gross, I know.

Apparently, she shoved past me a little too hard and hurt her shoulder.

Wonderful news, I say.

"Why don't you, like, watch where you're going. Ugh, you're so weird. Well what are you doing just standing there? You're in my way, freak show."

"No, _you're_ in _my_ way," I replied, extra slow so her almond-sized brain could process it.

"If you don't, like, get out of my way right now—you'll regret it."

"Please go away. Your voice hurts my ears."

"Arghhh!! You're so, like, annoying Bella!! Why can't _you_ go away. You're so ugly and nerdy. So stay out of my way, okay?" She finally left to go annoy the crap out of someone else.

You know what I need?

A Lauren-filter.

For Christmas.

Put it on my wish list Santa—nobody gives a fuck if I'm naughty or nice.

Do you know that when you're crapping on about something, other people have to hear it? They then have to process it, think about it, and decide whether they care or not.

No offence.

So naturally, when dealing with Lauren, I'd rather just skip the whole process and use my time more productively.

"Hey, Bells, I saw what happened with Lauren. Too fucking funny," Jake said, suddenly materializing next to me as I walked down the corridor to literature.

"I know, right? She looked like an angry Bratz doll, you know, the ones with the fat lips and humungous heads. But seriously though, why does she hate me so much?"

"You mean—you really have no idea?"

"No! Do you?"

"Um, yeah Bella, everyone does."

"What do you mean?" I pressed, annoyed by his evasiveness.

"I'll show you later." He replied before disappearing around the corner.

**A/N: Muahaha cliff-hanger. But Easter holidays are a week away for me, so I'll actually have time for writing.**

**Lots of love from Australia [that's where I live by the way, come stalk me]**

**Reviews = smiles and joy [...and also updates, for those of you out there who are susceptible to bribery.]**

**x sunshinelollypops**


	5. Surprises

**Enjoy chapter 5 and HELLO FROM AUSTRALIA!! =D And thankyou to my beta Pastiche Pen =D**

**Disclaimer: I don't own it.**

**Chapter 5 - Surprises**

EPOV

Finally my lap is

no longer numb;

numb and neglected

under Lauren's bum.

Finally I am free,

free as the breeze;

free to tell Lauren to

"Just fuck off, please?"

That's a lie:

I can't do that!

Emmett would hit me

with a baseball bat.

For he loves Rose-

and as for me?

I just gained feeling

in my left knee.

But things get worse

as I walk to class

Bella, beautiful Bella,

just walked past.

Though not before narrowing

her eyes at me;

not before glaring

at poor Eddie.

And now I am pissed

'cause she had no right!

To her I have always

been so polite!

I decide to walk up to her

and ask, "What's wrong?"

She says, "Go away.

Piss off. Run along."

What is her problem?

And why must she

take her anger

out on me?!?

Why does she have to

be so rude?

Well I won't fall victim

to her bad mood.

So if she hates me

then I hate her.

It's puerile, I know,

but after what just occurred:

I plan to ignore her,

to pay her no mind,

until she says sorry

for being unkind.

Or maybe I should just

be annoying and rude.

Maybe I-

CRASH!!

"Ow! Shit, sorry, are you alright?" I asked, looking at the girl I had just run into. I seem to be making a habit of this, I thought. She was quite tall for a girl, with pale, unblemished skin and wild, red hair. She was wearing a black leather jacket, black boots, red jeans and a silver top.

"Oh yeah, I'm fine, don't worry about it. I'm Victoria." She smiled at me. I smiled back, she seemed friendly enough. "I'm new here."

"Really? So am I, I'm Edward by the way."

She smiled, "Okay then, Edward, well I better get going, I have literature now, so I guess I'll see you around?"

"Yeah sure, see ya."

Well it's nice to know there's at least one other normal person in this school.

I finally made my way to biology—late—and Mr. Banner narrowed his eyes at me while flaring his nostrils like some demented horse.

Dumbass.

I was seated at my bench when I suddenly remembered the notebook. I pulled it out and flipped to the most recent page. There was a new message:

_Enigmatic Correspondent...I like it, it's fitting. _

_Though, I think I'll call you E.C for short._

_I'm gonna just cut to the chase here_—_I need your advice. _

_Or moral support. Either is fine._

_If you don't wanna read about my loser-y life, then I suggest you stop now._

_Or not._

_To cut a long story short, my mum just left my dad and me. You probably couldn't care less, 'cause stuff like this just happens every day, right? _

_WRONG! _

_She left so abruptly. Like one minute everything was fine between her and dad and the next minute it wasn't. And don't think I'm some stupid naïve child who is completely oblivious to the goings on of my parents. They don't fight. In fact, it's the complete opposite. I have to shield my ears with my pillows at night so I don't have to listen to them having sex! Parents who still have sex do not just break up overnight. There's usually a buildup. You can always see a separation coming. You can tell when someone is not happy with their partner. _

_And you know what you can also tell? When your dad is blocking everyone out. I'm really worried about him_—_he won't talk about anything that happened with anyone. He won't talk to me, and I don't think he plans on telling his best friend Billy either. _

_I really don't know what to do, and I know that you're a total stranger, but I need help. I can't discuss this with my friends because even though I'm my parents' daughter, this is to do with my _their _marriage; it's not my place to tell my friends _or _Billy. But you don't know me or my family or my friends, so I see no harm in confiding in you. _

_Don't feel obligated to sort out my issues though_—_after all, you don't owe me anything. But in case you do decide to reply, then you can call me...Buffy the Idiot Slayer, or Idiot Slayer for short._

_...Wow, I can't believe I just confessed half my problems (yes that's right, only half_—_there're a lot more where that came from) to some guy I don't know (assuming that you are guy_—_feel free to correct me). But hey, you can't be worse than the guys I do know. _[A/N: hehe Gossip Girl line]

_And kudos to you for making it to the end of this novel of a letter._

_Love, I.S. x _

Wow. Well, that was unexpected, I thought as I stared back at the almost two pages of writing.

This person, whomever they are, has decided to confide in me so willingly.

I'm _touched._

But how does one respond to an anonymous letter, written by a faceless author? And it's interesting, because even though I can't put a face to the "name," there's so much personality in the words that the face and name don't really matter.

Well I'm glad I found this notebook—and relieved! Imagine if it fell into the hands of Lauren…

I shuddered.

Though, I would pay to see her face if she ever read that poem about her…

BPOV

"Hi, I'm Victoria." The new girl smiled, after confidently breezing into literature class late, ignoring the teacher. She plonked down next to me and introduced herself again.

"Hey I'm Victoria, I'm new here. What's your name?"

"Bella. How's your first day been?" She gave an oddly triumphant smile after learning my name- like she had suspected my name was Bella, but she wanted to be sure.

Weird.

Or maybe it's all in my head.

"Yeah, yeah, good, well as good as a first day can be I guess. I had a double gym, which was awesome—I like sports."

_Ew, she liked sports_. I wrinkled my nose at this. She caught me and laughed at my expression.

"I'm guessing you're not a huge fan?"

"You're guessing right. You'll soon find that Coach Clapp is sports-obsessed—and on top of that he has this weird push-up fetish. It's embarrassing to watch, but I hadn't had any reason to dislike him—_until_ earlier today. Long story short, I'm being forced into trying out for the school musical."

"So you're in the musical?"

"Not yet—I have to audition, but for the sake of Coach Clapp leaving me alone, I hope I get in."

Which is the only reason I would ever want to audition for, let alone get into, a _Harry Potter_ musical.

"Hmm...I think I'm gonna sign up. It sounds like it'll be funny, even if it does suck."

_Well that was very spur-of-the-moment,_ I thought.

"You are one crazy girl, Victoria," I replied, shaking my head.

**. . . **

After Literature, I had Calculus. It passed in a blur, and finally it was lunch time. As soon as I found Jake, I grabbed him and dragged him by his collar into a corner.

"It's later now." I said to Jake.

"What the fuck are you talking abou—OW!"

"Sorry," I said, letting go of his collar, "and I was talking about how you told me before that _everyone_ is supposedly in on this big secret about why Lauren hates me. I, on the other hand, haven't got a fucking clue. You said you would show me later. So show."

"Okay, okay, geez Bella, come on, we need to go to the library then."

"As if something concerning Lauren has anything to do with the library. She never goes there."

"Look, do you want to know or not?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. I huffed, half out of annoyance and half out of impatience. I could tell Jake was feeling smug that he knew something about me that I didn't.

Well, he can bask in his momentary intelligence. He probably thinks it's a nice change from the usual idiot vibes constantly radiating off him.

Jake held the door of the library open for me. We stepped in, and I was greeted by the familiar whoosh of air-conditioning and the extra supply of oxygen.

"Follow me," Jake insisted, as he took my hand.

EPOV

I was walking to the cafeteria with Alice when Aro, that dude doing that Harry Potter six musical, sauntered over to us, his expression gleeful.

"Alice, darling, how are you! My gosh, I am just so excited about this year's production, it's going to be just fabulous!" he said, making several over-the-top hand gestures. "And this must be Edward!" He looked at me, grinning.

_Okay, well that was weird. _

"I'm so glad you two decided to sign up for the musical! You both will do great, I can just tell! Auditions are after-school tomorrow! Oh, there's so much to do, the costumes, the lights..." But I wasn't listening anymore. And I didn't miss the fact that Aro just asserted that _both _of us are trying out for the musical.

"Alice," I barely whispered, gritting my teeth together. "Have you done what I think you've done?"

She looked at me sheepishly. "Um...sorry?" She wasn't sorry, and she didn't even make an effort to conceal that fact—she was grinning from ear to ear.

"What. The. Fuck? I don't want to be in a Harry Potter musical! Why the hell did you sign me up? You didn't even ask!" I said.

"Oh, come on, it'll be fun!"

"You always say that. You said that about Lauren's party. I doubt I'll even be able to move around when I go there because Lauren will attach her stupid butt to my lap. Plus, I have better things to do on Friday than go to Lauren's party! You can't make me go!"

"Yes, I can, and you will. And you _so_ don't have anything better to do on a Friday night and you know it. Oh and you're doing the musical too—no excuses. There's no point in arguing 'cause we both know that I'll win." Alice crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. She was feeling smug. She knew I stood no chance against her.

"Fuck you, pixie" was my genius defense.

We made our way to the usual table, where Lauren once again treated me like a sofa.

This day just keeps getting _worse and worse._

I scanned the cafeteria for familiar brown eyes, but they weren't there. Well, good for her. She _should_ stay away from me. Too bad she's so beautiful...

_No. Bad Edward. _

Bella is obnoxious and mean. She hates you.

"Ed! Hey man, will you come to my party?" asked Tyler Crowley.

"He'd love to!" answered Alice, before I could say no.

"Then can you come to my party too?" asked Mike Newton.

_Fuck no. How should I break it to him that he's nothing short of stupid?_

"Actually—"

"Yeah sure, just give us the details, and we'll be there," Alice answered for me _again. _What the fuck? What's it to Alice that I go to some loser's party? Come to think of it, what's it to her that I even do the musical? Hmm...she's scheming. Sneaky pixie. She has an ulterior motive, something other than "it'll be fun."

Rosalie Hale was approaching us now.

"Hey do you wanna come to my house for a party?"

"Hell, yes!" yelled Emmett, just beating Alice who was about to answer as well.

What's going on with Alice? Why does she want to go to all these parties? I can understand why Emmett does—Rosalie will be at them, too. But Alice?

Yep, she's scheming. I just _knew_ all the "it'll be fun" business was a pile of crap.

"Well, you guys have fun. I'll just stay home and practice my piano. Yep, that sounds like a good plan," I said, hoping they would let me off easy.

_No such luck_.

"Eddie boy, don't even think about it!"

BPOV

Jake dragged me by the hand past the familiar aisles of the Forks High library. By this point, usually I would be sitting in a corner reading Jane Austen _again. _

But not today.

Surprisingly, instead of staying in the book section, Jake led me into the computer area. "I can't believe you don't know about this."

"Well, it's not my fault! And how come you never told me? Besides, it's never come up in conversation, so how would I know about it?"

"Shh! Don't shout or we'll get kicked out. And I never told you 'cause I assumed you knew but neither cared nor wanted to talk about it," Jake replied while taking a seat at an empty computer and opening up the web browser. "And anyway, I'm sure you'll piss yourself laughing when you read this, seriously Bells, it's some pretty funny shit. Scary, but funny."

"Can't you just tell me what 'it' is?"

"Nope. I wanna see your face when you read it. Damn, I should've brought a camera!"

"You're getting way too excited Jake," I muttered as he typed in the web address.

The page finally loaded and I gasped.

**A/N: Soz, I kinda gotta thing for cliffies. **

**Guess what? I'm learning Bella's Lullaby! But OMG that piece is made for BIG HANDS and mine are TINY. Some of the chords are impossible for me and my pinky starts popping afterwards. It's quite gross, really. **

**Oh and if anyone is interested in seeing my banner that I use on Twilighted for this story [which I made myself- I'M SO PROUD!!=D] there is a link on my profile. **

**Now review!!**

**sunshinelollypops x**


	6. Who's the Fairest of Them All?

**Thankyou to my beta, Pastiche Pen =D  
Enjoy the chapter!! There's a longer A/N at the end. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own it.**

**Chapter 6- ****Who's the Fairest of Them All?**

BPOV

_Mirror, mirror on the wall:_

_WHO'S THE FAIREST OF THEM ALL?_

_The choice is yours, Forks High!_

I doubled over laughing, though tried to keep as quiet as possible so we wouldn't get kicked out of the library. Various shades of pink and purple dominated the page. Hearts adorned the top of every "i." _Jake goes on this site! _"Jake...haha...I can't believe...haha..."

"Do you wanna know why Lauren hates you or not?" he snapped.

"I think someone's being a _tad_ defensive. Geez, no need to get your knickers in a knot—or a bow, whichever you prefer. You know, it's good to get in touch with your feminine side—okay, I'll stop now. Seriously, dude, chillax. T'was only a harmless joke." _You don't have to be scary about it._

Jake stopped flaring his nostrils and scrolled down. He clicked on "THE LIST". The page loaded and immediately I was greeted with the none other than the face of Lauren Mallory.

_Could someone please stab the computer screen?_

Underneath the obscenely large photo of Lauren stood the words that made me choke on air:

_**Lauren Mallory: The Fairest of Them All.  
**__Rank: #1_

Well fancy that. I bet she's the web-mistress. She probably created the site and made herself number one...

...no, wait.

She's too stupid to do that.

_Huh_.

"Hey, Jake, who decides all of this? The ranking, I mean."

"They have this voting system where you can rate people from a scale of one to five. The more five-star ratings you get, the higher your rank will be."

"I'm not gonna ask how you know that."

"Good. And don't look at me like that."

"Like what?"

"Like I'm queer or something."

I sniggered. He turned his head away from me, as if ignoring my presence. And so, we continued to scroll down the list. Jessica Stanley was rated number 2—no shocker there. Rosalie Hale was number 3...and if I wasn't potty trained, I would have shit myself:

_Edward was number 4?!_

What a fucker! He's been here for half a week, and he's _already in the top five?_

Well that, right there, just proves my conclusions about him at lunchtime—he's set on being one of the "populars." Effectively becoming a sheep; following the herd, conforming.

...not that he shouldn't be among the "fairest of them all," no. In fact, he should steal number one from Lauren! He looked so damn good in this photo. Those piercing green eyes...and oh my, that hair, that soft, bronze hair. Let me run my fingers through it over and over...

_No. Bad Bella._

Edward hates you.

And you hate him. Case closed. The end. Move on.

Jake scrolled down and stopped on Mike Newton's page, #7. He clicked on it and I saw, under his profile picture, that people had left comments.

_Ur soo friggin' hot!_

Um...okay. I wonder who wrote that...

_Jessica Stanley._ Go figure.

Jake returned to the page with "The List" and scrolled down some more.

And some more.

Keep going...and stop.

_**Bella Swan  
**__Rank: #206_

Well there's me. Whoop-di-doo! Number 206, well aren't I popular?

"Jake, I still don't get what all this has to do with Lauren hating me."

He didn't answer me though, and instead clicked on my profile.

EPOV

Alice.

Emmett.

Two people in my life who I, as of now, am giving silent treatment to.

Until further notice.

Why?

Alice:

Harry Potter musical.  
Lauren's party.  
Tyler's party.  
Mike's party.

Emmett:

Shackles.  
Rosalie's party.  
The harming of my lap on a regular basis.

The silent treatment.  
Justified? I think so.

But they're not the only ones.

Bella is getting silent treatment too.

Until further notice.

Why?

Bella:

She hates me.  
She's mean to me.  
She has no reason to be.  
She confuses me.  
She intrigues me  
She's beautiful.  
I want to kiss her.  
I want to hold her.  
This is stupid.  
She still hates me.  
I should hate her.  
But that's impossible.  
I wish she liked me.  
I'm stupid.  
And confused.

So it'll be silent treatment from now on. If not to annoy Bella, then to at least ensure my silence. Because silence is better than speaking at the moment, considering my current state. I'd rather not embarrass myself by speaking to her. Also, she should know how it feels. Getting the cold shoulder, that is. From me.

Hah! Take that, Bella!

I continued to wallow for a bit. At least there was one positive that came from it—I temporarily forgot the impression of Lauren's imposing butt on my lap...which I endure for Emmett!

Hence the silent treatment.

The wallowing continued…

Wallow wallow wallow.

And then, by some miracle, my lap suddenly felt...lighter!

I returned back to the real world and was delighted to find that my lap was no longer full of butt. I looked up and saw Lauren talking to some tanned guy. Well, by talking, I really meant groping. Of course, he didn't mind.

Wow, does he have no standards at all?

I looked at him closer. He looked like one of the boys from the Indian reservation. His dark hair went down to the ends of his ears and his gleaming white teeth stood out against his dark, russet skin.

"...sure, babe, I'll come to your party," he said, rather cockily too.

"Good boy," said Lauren, running her hands up and down his chest, "I promise it'll, like, be lots of fun."

"I look forward to it," he said, smirking.

And then they started making out.

Awkward...

I'm still here, you know, guys. The whole cafeteria is.

_I hear strange sucking noises._

_Their tongues flip about like fish out of water._

_Is he eating her face?_

My face contorted into a cringe. I glanced at Alice and Emmett. Their expressions mirrored mine. When Lauren and the Indian boy finally pulled apart, their lips made an embarrassingly loud smacking noise. And there was a...

A glistening line on saliva.

_Lovely._

"You're such a good kisser, Embry," Lauren sighed.

The bell rang, loud and clear and painful.

_Here's my chance to escape!_

I leapt from my chair and ran away, suddenly eager to get to my next class.

BPOV

My profile page loaded and I seized the mouse from Jake.

I scrolled down to the comments section. Okay, I thought, for someone who has such a low rating… why do I have this many comments? But as I studied the comments page further, it became clear that most of the comments came from one person.

_Anonymous writes:_

_Isabella Swan, your beauty captivates me.  
Your hair is fine silk,  
coloured a beautiful, rich brown.  
Your wide, chocolate eyes:  
they enrapture me,  
calling me,  
beckoning me.  
Those full, plump lips:  
begging for my tender kiss._

_If you're reading this, just know: I am more than willing to oblige._

_Wow._ I'm flattered. I scrolled down curiously to read another comment.

_Lauren Mallory writes:_

_ok ur blind. bella is fugly._

_if u wanna see someone who's way prettier then click on my page. srsly. xxx_

_Anonymous writes:_

_What do you see when you look in the mirror, Lauren?  
I imagine you must be very familiar with mirrors:  
you do seem like quite the narcissistic bitch.  
Your hair is so dry it resembles a hay stack.  
Your breasts are the size of party balloons  
...you get the picture._

_So get off your high horse before I have to drag you down myself._

_Jessica Stanley writes:_

_u don't know anything ok? me and lauren are the hottest gurls in skool, even ask mike. we're so pretty, and bella is so...lyk... not pretty. xxx_

I wanted to cyber-punch Lauren and Jessica. But I scrolled down and was pleased to see that this Anonymous guy was already at it.

_Anonymous writes:_

_Isabella, your true beauty is invisible to these baboons.  
Ignore it.  
I know it's hard.  
People like them,  
they never know when to shut the hell up._

I found myself grinning and almost forgot Jake was right next to me.

Sweet satisfaction.

It's a wonderful thing, being able to picture Lauren and Jessica looking like stunned mullets after reading this guy's comments.

I laughed to myself and kept reading.

_Lauren Mallory writes:_

_what's a baboon? xxx _

_Eric Yorkie writes:_

_Konnichiwa!  
Greetings, my fellow online buddies. Lauren-san, a baboon is a member of the primate family. They are hairy and have pink bottoms. Also, long noses and big mouths.  
Sayounara minasan!_

_Jessica Stanley writes: _

_if me and jessica are pretty, then why are we baboons? xxx _

_Anonymous writes:_

_Ugh, forget it.  
How you managed to rank #1 and #2 is beyond me._

_Isabella Marie Swan, YOU are the fairest of them all._

_Tyler Crowley writes:_

_Yo, anonymous dude, what's your name?_

_Anonymous writes:_

_If I wanted you to know that,  
I wouldn't be anonymous, would I?_

_Besides,  
What's in a name? That which we call a rose  
By any other word would smell as sweet._

_Lauren Mallory writes:_

_isn't that from Princess Diaries? xxx_

_Anonymous writes:_

_It's Shakespeare you idiot._

_Lauren Mallory writes:_

_ugh, whatevs. i'm still the fairest of them all. everyone voted for me, no one cares what u think. so, lyk, go away. xxx_

_Anonymous writes:_

_No one cares what I think?  
Well if that were true, we wouldn't even be having this conversation.  
It would seem that you, in fact, care very much about what I think._

_Do us all a favour and, "lyk", go away. Please._

I found that the rest of _Anonymous's_ comments were mostly the same. Him pretty much trying to cyber-serenade me while telling Lauren and Jessica what most people were too afraid to say. It was oh-so-satisfying.

"So now you know," said Jake.

"But how can the whole school know that this is the real reason that Lauren hates me? It's not like they'd be going on _my _profile page—I'm number _206_!"

Jake pointed to the corner of my profile page and my jaw hit the floor.

_100, 000 hits._

"Somehow word got around about this little cyber feud going on at your profile page, so lots of people have been keeping tabs on it, as you can see." I sat there looking stunned. Jake waved his hands in front of my face and I snapped out of my trance.

"Jake, do you know who this guy is? I know he's anonymous, but someone's gotta know something, right? I mean, I'm flattered, but don't you reckon it's...I dunno, creepy? I mean, technically he's a stranger..."

"No, I don't know who he is. No one does. And that makes Lauren even more jealous 'cause you've literally got a secret admirer. I told you this was funny," Jake laughed, shaking his head.

I laughed along with him, but I couldn't help the nagging suspicion that told me there was more to this than meets the eye. Jake sensed my worry.

"Don't fret, Bells. This has been going on for a while now, and nothing bad's happened to you. It's just some harmless entertainment—and don't worry about Anonymous being a stranger. He's probably just a poetic version of Mike or Eric." I decided to let it go. Jake was probably right. I'm making a big deal out of nothing.

The bell rang and I groaned. _Double Trig here I come._

EPOV

I speed-walked down the hallway to my next class. I glanced over my shoulder and relief washed over me.

_No Lauren. Yes!_

I rounded the corner and decided to take a short cut that I had found yesterday. As far as I could guess, no one ever came this way, mainly because the narrow passageway was formed by two walls spaced only a foot apart. The only source of light was whatever came from each end. I was about halfway when I heard footsteps. Since when does anyone use this passageway? Not that I had staked my claim on it or anything... but it didn't seem like somewhere people usually went. I saw a dark silhouette getting closer and closer, their footsteps getting louder and louder.

And all of a sudden, I was face to face with...Bella.

Bella looked up at me through her thick lashes, waiting for me to say something.

But I couldn't. We were only centimeters apart, our chests almost touching.

She was too close.

Neither of us made a sound. We just looked at each other. Suddenly it felt like there was very little oxygen. I found myself feeling out of breath, slightly gasping for air. Bella's chest was heaving too.

"Edward, you're blocking my way," she whispered. "Edward, I can't get through," she said, though she didn't sound angry.

"Oh, um, okay." What was the question again? All I could hear was our uneven breathing. I couldn't focus.

"Edward, can you please move? I need to get to class." She was starting to get annoyed now.

"I can't move," I replied.

"Yes you can, turn around and go back."

"But my class is that way," I said, pointing past her, "so why would I go back?"

"Because I can't get past you, idiot!"

"But that's not fair! You're blocking my way too! Why can you turn around and go back?"

"Well if one of us doesn't turn around, then what are we going to do? This passageway is too narrow, it's only one-way!"

"I'll just squeeze past you, okay? Geez, it's not that hard."

_Understatement of the century._

I moved forward just as she did and instantly felt her small, warm body press against me. I heard a sharp intake of breath and I hoped to God that wasn't me.

Her soft breasts were shoved up against my chest, and I heard her gasp. There was no space between us and I could feel her hot breath on my neck. It was too much. I needed to get out before she accidently bumped into my lower half and felt how excited I was getting.

I tried to quickly push past her but my leg hit something, and I heard a hiss of pain. Shit, what I have I gone and done now? I looked over at Bella and saw her clutching her leg. In my haste to get away, I had accidently kicked her in the shin. _Ouch._

"Bella I'm so sorry, I didn't do it on purpose!"

Crap, I must have hurt her really badly. Oh God, I hope she's okay.

"Asshole," she muttered, as she turned and limped away.

**A/N: So that was chapter 6. I hope that was satisfactory considering the mean cliffy I left you two chapters ago. Kudos to those who guessed that it was some sort of "Hot or Not" list. Now, I know there's a lot going on in the story so far, so here's a reminder of a few 'issues' so far:**

**-Charlie and Renee break-up  
-Alice's weird party obsession  
-Edward and Bella "hating" each other  
-The actual correspondence between Edward and Bella.  
-The Harry Potter 6 musical (some advice- you'll probably find it funnier if you read HP 6. That being said, Bella, in this story, hasn't read HP 6 either. So I'll write parts where she'll be reading it to find out more about her role. But I won't put in anything that spoils the plot, incase you're worried about that. So if you don't wanna read it, that's fine too.)  
-Victoria's arrival**

**And there's probably stuff that I haven't listed too... **

**Anywho, review! I appreciate all feedback and I read every single review. If you have a question (that I can answer without ruining the story for you) then feel free to ask me that too.**

**sunshinelollypops x **


	7. Edward's Discovery

**Heloo to all you awesome readers. Sorry this took forever. Not much exciting in this chapter, but I'll try and get the next one out soon. Originally, this was supposed to be the musical auditions but that's been postponed to next chapter. So yer =D hope y'all enjoy this chapter. **

**Disclaimer: Guess who owns Twilight? Me!!! *smeyer punches me in the face* Okay, okay, I don't own it. *sad face***

**Chapter 7- Edward's Discovery**

BPOV

I groaned as I woke up, my leg aching from yesterday's impromptu meeting with Edward Cullen's foot. I looked down and—wow, he really did a number on me. A bump was clearly visible, as was the blue bruise that had formed on my poor, poor shin—and I thought I was clumsy! Well, I can now safely conclude that Edward Cullen is a prick.

_As if I haven't already done that._

Yesterday's events ran through my mind. First of all, he's blocking my way in the corridor. And, instead of moving, he just stands there saying nothing like a total douchebag. Then, a hundred years later, he figures out that he doesn't particularly feel like getting out of my way. But alas! Moments later he quickly resolves to try and squeeze past me. Which, despite my current bitching, was actually quite nice. Okay, _very nice._ Six seconds of blissful, claustrophobic heaven...until he goes and kicks me!

He didn't even check to see if I was okay...did he?

Ugh, I couldn't even remember. Honestly, the whole shin incident was just a speck on the horizon compared to...other things I remembered, which, due to reasons that I'd rather not admit, had become more prominent in my memory.

Like how his body felt so masculine and perfect against mine, how he gasped for breath, and how I very much liked that he did...

_**Ugh**_, _what am I talking about?_ Edward would never be interested in me and besides, he's on a quest for popularity just like everybody else—_so _not my type.

I slumped out of bed, hoping the pain would go jab at someone else's leg for a change. The journey to the kitchen was somewhat perilous, and I couldn't even get my Coco Pops without various boxes of cereal mercilessly attacking me, box after box plummeting down on my awaiting head. _If only my leg didn't have issues, I could have avoided that_, I thought.

Thus, this morning I learned to appreciate my legs.

I smiled as I thought about kicking Edward in the shins the next time I saw him—teach _him_ to appreciate his legs more, too.

When I got to school, Alice decided it was okay to run and jump on me. She did so even after I announced about the injuries that I'd sustained due to recent events involving stupid, klumsy people who aimlessly kick other people in dark corridors. I told her all about her brother's spontaneous kicking habits, however, I found that Alice had ignored me completely and was instead talking animatedly about something else.

"...I wonder if he'll make us wear costumes! We'll probably have to say some lines too—"

"Alice, what are you talking about?"

"Musical auditions! You haven't forgotten, have you?"

"Oh no, I forgot about those! Alice, do I really have to do this?"

"I think you know the answer to that question, and besides, if you don't, then Coach Clapp will discover the lack of sit-ups in your day!" She giggled at my horrified face. "Oh, come on, Bella, I'm only asking that you audition! You haven't signed up for regular rehearsals just yet, so at least give the audition a chance and worry about the rest later. Pretty please?"

I didn't have a chance to argue.

"Thanks, you're the best!" Alice declared before scampering off.

I sighed and limped into double biology, waving goodbye to Alice. I took my seat next to Jacob.

"Hey Bells! You look like crap!" He grinned. "Anything I can do to help?"

"Hah, no, not really. Stupid Alice and her stupid musical, stupid cereal boxes, stupid shin..."

Jake shook his head and left me to my grumblings.

Then, as if given an electric shock, I sat bolt upright.

"E.C!" I remembered that E.C must have written in the notebook recently. I hurriedly, but still carefully, yanked out the notebook from the convenient little hole in the wall. I flipped to the most recent page, immediately locating the newest entry.

_Dear I.S,_

_Your life does not seem "loser-y" to me at all. I can see that you've got a lot to deal with right now. I haven't dealt with a separation before, though, so you might not find me helpful, but I promise I'll try. Oh, and you're right in assuming that I'm a guy, not a girl. Just out of curiosity, which are you?_

_So I really don't know what advice to give about your dad. You said yourself that your mom's departure was unexpected_—_I think he feels the same. Is there any sign that he anticipated something like this, or was it all just as out-of-the-blue for him as well? Also, if, like you said, he isn't talking to anyone about what happened and you can't get him to open up, I think you should get Billy to talk to him. I know you feel that it's not your place, but you don't have a lot of options and if Billy is your dad's best friend, then I don't think your dad will mind too much._

_But aside from your dad, I think this is affecting you a lot too. Have you heard from your mom? Has she tried to contact you at all? If not, maybe you should try and get in touch so she can explain because she's left you confused. If I were you, I'd want an explanation, and despite your opinion, I think you should talk to your friends about this_—_after all, they're your friends for a reason and just remember that they're there for you_—_if they were in the same situation, you'd want to help them out too, right? Also, I want you to consider me as one of your friends too :)_

_Write back soon,_

_E.C._

I smiled as I read the letter, glad that E.C wanted to be friends and glad that I'd chosen to confide in him. I eagerly wrote my reply and stashed it in the wall.

EPOV

_Finally_, I thought as the bell signaled for the end of gym with Coach Clapp. I saw Alice with Emmett, hanging out in the corridor, and everybody else that had congregated—I didn't know half of them, either, but I recognized Mike, Tyler, Eric, Rosalie, obviously Lauren and Jessica...

"Alice, why are all these people here? We're not even friends with them, and besides, usually they just come and go—they don't hang around. Also, we're blocking the corridor," I whispered to her, watching Mike and Tyler playing catch with Eric's lunch bag—Eric was frantic, trying to get them to give it back.

_That better not land anywhere near me_, I thought, shaking my head.

"The more the merrier!" she replied.

I raised my eyebrow at her, dubious. I didn't care how many Laurens there could be, more certainly _did not_ mean merrier. "You're so unwelcoming, just let them stay. Besides, _we're_ the new people, not them. At least they're being friendly. You should be nicer to them, and we're going to Lauren's party tonight, remember? We can't be horrid to her and then show up at her party!"

"So, if I don't show up, does that mean I can be horrid to her? Please, say yes."

"Edward," she warned.

"Please, don't make me go!"

"It's not gonna be that bad, and I'm bringing someone I want you to meet. A _girl_—so be good."

"Why would a girl I'm _supposed_ to like go to a party like Lauren's? If you're trying to set us up—which is a totally Alice thing to do and I hope you don't go through with it—then taking us to Lauren's party is counter-productive."

"She doesn't know she's coming yet, but I'm sure a little persuasion will do the trick."

"_Persuasion?_ Ha! More like force. Either that, or bribery. Well, at least I'm not the only person you're picking on," I grumbled.

"Stop being such a drama queen. When we get home straight after musical auditions—and don't even try to get out of those—we'll decide on your costume."

"_Costume?!_"

"Yes, Edward, costume," she said in a bored tone, as if she had just finished explaining for the hundredth time. I crossed my arms and gave her the meanest frown I could muster but she wasn't even paying attention to me anymore so I gave up with a "humph" and left the table for biology. The bell rang just as I walked through the door and I hurried to my desk, eager to read the next entry from I.S in the notebook. I retrieved it and quickly found the page.

_Dear E.C,_

_Thanks for the awesome advice (and it really was_—_I'm not just saying that), I think I will do as you said and ask Billy and my friends for help. It makes sense when you put it the way you did, and no, my mom hasn't tried to contact us, but I'm going to take your advice and try and talk to her somehow._

_And I'm a girl, to answer your question :)_

_So how's your week been? Mine's been weird. I mean, apart from what happened with my parents. Yesterday my friend showed me this _Hot or Not? list _for Forks High, which, according to him, everyone knows about. Except, yesterday was the first I'd heard of it. Do you know the site I'm talking about? It's called "Who's The Fairest of Them All". It's the most stupid thing ever, but so funny. Also creepy, though, I mean, they have profiles of everyone at school... that kinda creeped me out, but it was still a good laugh. Lauren is ranked number one, though you probably know how I feel about that considering my poem on her ;)_

_Write back soon,_

_I.S._

Forks High had a _**Hot or Not?List**_?

_Who would've thought! But also, who made it up_—_and where do I rank?_

_...That has to be the most embarrassing thing you've ever thought, Edward._

And yet I was still curious enough to want to take a look at lunchtime.

_I am such a loser right now. I wonder if Alice and Emmett know about this site_—_Alice maybe, but probably not Emmett. _

And in my excitement about the Hot or Not list, I realised I hadn't read all of what I.S had written:

_P.S. Consider me as one of your friends too. Like I said before, your advice really helped me. It helped me to see the bigger picture and decide what to do next__—it gave me clarity when my head was a jumbled mess. And today's Friday, but I don't want to wait 'til Monday to talk to you again. I know you come under the heading of "stranger", but I figure you're the nice type, not the weirdo type. So I'll trust you not to stalk me if I give you my email address._

I smiled as I wrote down I.S's email address. It was nice to make a genuine friend who wasn't my sibling. As I wrote my reply to I.S., I figured I may as well check out the Hot or Not site—after all, _a peek couldn't hurt, right? _When the bell rang, I set off towards the library. Emmett stopped me on the way.

"Hey Edward—why did Tigger look in the toilet?" he asked, sniggering.

"I don't care." I tried to keep walking but he blocked my way.

"_Guess_."

"No."

Alice, seeing us, walked up and stood beside Emmett. "What's going on?" she asked.

"Edward wants to know why Tigger looked in the toilet."

"No, I don't. I want to get through."

"Well, for your information," said Emmett, "it's because he was looking for Pooh!"

"Can I go now?" I asked through gritted teeth.

"Okay, whatever dude." Emmett lifted up his hands in surrender.

"What's up with him?" I heard Alice ask Emmett as I walked away. I rounded the corner as I heard Emmett say something about me being a "woman-on-a-mission." I couldn't care less as I sauntered into the library and into the computer labs.

I googled the page and clicked on the link. It loaded and immediately I was bombarded with pink and purple. It reminded me of what Alice's room used to look like when she was eight. I scrolled down and sure enough, Lauren and Jessica were numbers one and two, Rosalie Hale was number three, number four was—_Me?!_

I sat there in shock, not really knowing what to do.

_Why on earth was I number four?_ _Beyond weird._ I clicked on my page.

_Jessica Stanley writes:__  
ur soo friggin' hot! xx_

_Lauren Mallory writes:__  
he's a major hottie. if anyone is thinking about asking him out, you don't stand a chance. he's mine. xx_

_Jessica Stanley writes:__  
he is sooo cute I could just eat him up! xx_

_Lauren Mallory writes:__  
what are you talkin about, jess? he's mine, stay away from him. xx_

I pushed the mouse away as if it'd just grown legs and a tail. I gawked at the screen. _Gah! Now I see what I.S meant about creepy! _I went back to the List page and scrolled down. My siblings were ranked straight after me, and Mike Newton came after them.

I wondered where Bella ranked on this... she should be number one. Of course, I'd never admit that to her—she's so bi-polar, she'd probably shove a pencil up my nose. But she truly is the fairest of them all. Too bad she hates me for no reason. And I suppose kicking her yesterday didn't really improve my chances with her.

God, that was so embarrassing! And to top it off, the way I acted when I was trying to get past her probably made her feel so uncomfortable. Gasping for breath like the stupid teenaged boy I am. I'll be even more mortified if she noticed the very obvious bulge in my pants.

...Crap! She probably did! Argh, I bet she thinks I'm a creep! Oh no oh no oh no! _Please don't think I'm a creep, I couldn't help it. _It just happened. We were too close, not that I minded. But still. I shouldn't have done that, I shouldn't have let it happen. Crap, she noticed. She must've noticed.

_Calm down, Edward. _If that was the case, then_ she_ would have kicked _you_, I thought. But_ I _kicked _her_, so that's settled.

_No, it is not settled! Now she'll never like you. _Well, I thought glumly, if she didn't have a reason to hate me before, she does now.

I searched her name and she came up as...number 206?! Geez, she and Lauren need to switch places. I clicked on her page.

It shocked me. There were so many comments despite her low ranking and—_100,054 hits?! _I scrolled down and felt my jaw dropping more and more as I read the comments. There seemed to be a big dispute going on between Lauren, Jessica, and some guy called _Anonymous_. He was some sort of secret admirer. I was surprised at how much I already despised him because of that fact. His comments, although flattering—well, to Bella, at least—were a little too forward for my liking. He seemed overly confident that his words would win Bella.

Another reason not to like him.

Plus, Jessica's "I could just eat him up" had made me shudder, but I didn't take her seriously—she's just _Jessica,_ and I know she's not actually going to eat me. But this _Anonymous_ guy was a complete online stranger with an infatuation for my Bel—I mean, _Bella_—and the way he responded to Lauren and Jessica was, although satisfying, a little too harsh. I got the feeling that you wouldn't want to get on this guy's bad side.

But then again, this is the online world, and people naturally feel braver insulting some people and declaring their love for others when they can do so behind an anonymous mask and a computer screen. So maybe _Anonymous_ is just a Mike Newton. _He_ would never be so aggressive in real life.

"Hey Edward!"

"Gah!" I fell off my chair after jumping in surprise at the voice.

"Sorry about that. It's me, Victoria," she said as she helped me up, "from the other day. Remember?"

"Oh, hey! How are you?"

"I'm pretty good I s'pose. You?"

"Yeah, not too bad."

"So...Forks High's infamous Hot or Not list, huh?" she said, smirking, looking directly at the computer screen behind me, "I didn't pick you as the type to be on here." Boy, this was embarrassing. I laughed nervously. "Don't worry," she said, "your secret's safe with me."

I sighed with relief. "I got curious. What can I say?"

She laughed. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't curious either. I only just heard about this—overheard Lauren going on and on about her being number one. So, who's page are you on?" she asked as she skirted around me and sat down on the swivelling chair.

"Uh...well..." I stammered. She scrolled up to where the profile picture was visible and Bella's face appeared on the screen. I looked at Victoria sheepishly, but she didn't notice. She had already begun to read the comments, her eyes flitting across the screen, her expression changing slowly into...shock? No, there was something else there. Anger? But who was she angry with? Me? Bella? Lauren and Jessica?

Her eyes were still glued to the screen and after a good ten minutes of just standing next to her I decided I could leave without offending her. Well, she's officially obsessed. Man, that site is all kinds of crazy. I shrugged, deciding that I didn't really give a shit, and left the library, vowing never to go on the stupid site again.

**A/N: So Eddie isn't Anonymous. Sorry.**

**In other news, I'm thinking about droppig the rating to T cuz this story isn't that M rated atm. But I don't wanna give up my use of the f-word... so yah... just wondering if you guys reckon there's too much swearing to make this T. Lemme know, k? **

**Also would like to thank my beta, Pastiche Pen. If you haven't already, go check out her story _If Love Could Light A Candle._**

**Review! Tell me what this story should be rated, or how much you hate waiting for updates, or that your enjoying/hating this story. Also love to hear any constructive criticism. I read all your reviews and they make me smile. Review!**

**sunshinelollypops x**


	8. Audition Time

**Hey hello, here's chapter 8! For those of you who haven't read HP6, you might wanna read the notes below. Other than that, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own it.**

Notes:

"Avada Kedavra"- this is also known as the Killing Curse in HP and it causes instant death.

Voldemort- he's the evil guy, also known as "the Dark Lord", "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named," or "You-Know-Who."

Death Eaters- followers of Voldemort. They are evil.

Severus Snape- a teacher at Hogwarts, which is the wizarding school that Harry, Hermione, Ron etc. all attend. In the movies, he's the guy with the greasy black shoulder-length hair.

Draco Malfoy- the guy with the slicked-back blonde hair who hates Harry and also goes to Hogwarts

Narcissa Malfoy- Draco Malfoy's mother and Lucius Malfoy's wife.

Lucius Malfoy- Draco Malfoy's father and Narcissa Malfoy's husband. He is a Death Eater

Albus Dumbledore- headmaster of Hogwarts and very powerful. He's a good guy.

**Chapter 8- Audition Time**

BPOV

As Alice pulled me in the general direction of Hell, or as some would call it, "the drama studio," I suppressed the urge to throw myself out the window—into the arms of anything but a _Harry Potter_ musical. My fears were not of singing—I loved singing with a passion (hence the reason for lessons every week), but dancing? A definite _no-no_. Not good for someone who broke her leg attempting the Chicken Dance.

Aro beamed when he saw us. "Oh, I'm so glad you could make it! Everyone else is sitting on the floor over there."

Alice and I sat down and I surveyed those who had come. A grand total of four. I always knew this would be a spectacular show. I looked over at Alice, who had suddenly started yapping away into her phone. "Where are you? Don't make me come looking for you," she paused, obviously listening to the person on the other end. "You better be!" she began again. "We're about to start." She hung up, looking like she was about to crush her phone with the heel of her shoe. Abruptly, her expression changed, her face breaking into an enthusiastic grin as she turned to me.

"What?" I asked her. I had grown to become suspicious of an excited Alice.

"Are you my friend, Bella?"

"Yes."

"So, you would want to make me happy, right?"

"I s'pose."

"Okay, well, I want you to come to Lauren's party with me."

"Not in a million y—?" I stopped when Alice pulled out a brand new Coldplay C.D. "You're _bribing_ me?"

"Yep... What? Why are you looking at me like that? You want the C.D. I want you to come to Lauren's. Think of it as a compromise rather than bribery."

"Why do you even want to go to Lauren's party?"

"Don't think of it as 'Lauren's party!' Just think of it as a party. Who cares if Lauren's hosting it? You shouldn't let a trivial little detail like that stop you from going. Don't deprive yourself of a potentially fun night just because you're too proud to show up at her house. Besides, I bet you won't even see her: she'll be too busy making out with Mike or Embry or whoever she can get her claws on."

"What if she sees me and kicks me out?"

"Since when are you scared of Lauren? Listen, I'm not asking you to do this because I want to give you a hard time. I'm asking because I want you to have fun and make some friends. That's the same reason why I brought you here today, because no offense, Bella, but you're a tad anti-social. I bet there are some really nice people here that you and I don't even know and we'll miss out on meeting them if we don't make the effort."

I snorted.

She rolled her eyes at me and said, "Did you really think I thought that since I'd want to dance and sing in a musical, you would too? Seriously Bella, I know you better than that! I hope you know that my love for dancing isn't the reason why I brought you here. Anyway, the C.D. is just a little incentive to get you to agree to come, but if you don't want to, then fine. I'm not mad or anything, but I wish you'd just come with me this one time. If you don't like it, I won't ask you again. Cross my heart."

She smiled at me, and then the impossible happened. Because guilt makes you do stupid things.

"Okay, Alice, I'll go."

She squealed and handed over the C.D.

"But I seriously think you're being too ambitious hoping I'll actually meet anyone sane enough to be friends with."

"Who said anything about sane people? I'm perfectly insane, and you're still friends with me."

I laughed. Alice will be Alice.

APOV

Where. Is. Edward?

I told him we were about to start, so why isn't he here already? Maybe he's annoyed because I agreed we'd go to all those parties. I should've told him that it's not like we're actually going to go. They're just back-up plans for him and Bella to meet—in case they don't today. They're perfect for each other—I can just tell! Although I was hoping they would meet today since I assumed Edward would actually turn up! And why is there a piece of paper poking me in the face?" I looked up and gasped.

The most beautiful boy ever was staring back at me. He instantly realized that he was shoving a piece of paper in my face and quickly pulled it back, all embarrassed and cute.

"Hi—I mean, here's your...um...lyrics for..."

"I'm Alice," I said as I gazed up at him, my eyes sweeping over his wavy blond hair, admiring his handsome face-his strong jaw, his dimples, his lips—before finally locking with his eyes, blue and endless and fixed on me.

"Jasper. I'm Jasper," he said, almost whispering, as he let the piece of paper fall softly onto my lap. He continued to hand out lyrics to the others, all the while still holding my gaze.

BPOV

I turned to my right to find _Alice in Wonderland_. I looked past her and saw a cute blond-haired boy who was evidently also in Wonderland. I decided not to interrupt their moment and instead busied myself by un-tying and re-tying my shoelaces. Everything was totally fine and I may have even started to secretly enjoy myself a little, until I looked up to check the time. Bad idea.

There was Edward, staring right at me, his hair all bronze and messy and hot.

And standing right behind him was Lauren and Jessica and Mike and Eric and Tyler and Embry and Emmett and Rosalie and the whole fucking gang. Could this get any worse? Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Alice get up and pull Edward over to where we were seated.

"Why did you bring them?" she whispered angrily, clearly as confused and annoyed as I was. "Since when do they want to do a musical?"

"Hey, I didn't ask them to come, okay? They _followed_ me," Edward replied in a hushed whisper.

I rolled my eyes.

Edward saw me and asked, "What's your problem, Bella?" He was clearly annoyed.

"Wait, you know Bella?" Alice asked, confused.

He ignored her and instead repeated the question to me. "What's your problem?"

"Don't worry, it's nothing." I knew if I didn't stop now we'd end up fighting.

"No, tell me. It'd be nice to know why you're always angry at me."

"I said it's nothing, and anyway, your followers are waiting for you. Oh, and I think Lauren needs a chair, but since lately you've taken on that role, you should probably get over there." I nodded my head in their direction.

Edward was furious, and was about to say something when Aro waltzed into the room and took one look around at the sudden mass of people, his face instantly bursting with glee.

"Oh this is fabulous, guys! I'm so excited you've all decided to participate! Now, let's all sit in a circle so that everyone feels included, and then we can..."

Edward turned around and went to sit with his friends.

What. A. Dick.

He may be hot, but that doesn't stop him from being a dipshit in my book. How dare he make it look like I'm the one with the problem! He's the one who turned out to be shallow Mr. Popular. He's the superficial one. I've been me all along—I haven't changed for anyone—I'm still Bella. But he wants to be like them now. Ugh, I should just forget about him.

"Hey Bells!" Jake was suddenly walking towards me, interrupting whatever Aro was talking about.

My mood instantly lifted as I looked up and saw Nessie, Angela and Ben right behind him, and finally Victoria, sauntering into the room just behind them. They all sat down next to Alice and me, while I wondered what or who on earth could have convinced them to come here of all places. I turned to Jake and asked him that exact question.

"We got curious," he said, shrugging his shoulders. "Pretty much everyone we know came here, to this audition. We wanted to know what we were missing out on, so we tagged along with Victoria."

"Well, after today you're gonna wish you never came," I said, as Aro handed out copies of the lyrics to the newcomers.

"Oh well, if everyone's here then there must be at least one good thing about this," he replied, looking over his lyrics.

I glanced down at the copy in my hands. It was the musical's opening number, apparently. I began reading, but as I continued, the words to the song became ridiculous. This didn't seem like Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince at all. In fact, there was only one conclusion I could draw from it. Aro had made this musical about...

"Hair?!?!" I blurted out.

"No, no, Bella, I said _rare_, not hair," Aro said, confused, "I said that it is very rare for a school to attempt a Harry Potter Six musical. Anyway, moving on, I'd just like to say that this isn't going to be the most... "accurate"performance of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, as I have tweaked the storyline a little—"

"A little?" Nessie asked, clearly having just read the lyrics herself. By then everyone had started to read their copies, their expressions turning to that of shock and disbelief.

"Yes, Vanessa, a little. Listen, I want you all to keep an open mind here," said Aro carefully, as if we were all about to run away, screaming. When he realized we wouldn't, he continued talking, "I made the decision to make some minor changes to the storyline for several reasons. Firstly, a musical must be upbeat, happy, and light-hearted, which I didn't feel we could achieve using the serious plotline of the original Harry Potter Six. Secondly, as some of you had pointed out to me when I first announced the musical, Harry Potter has a complex storyline, which I must admit is quite baffling, even to me! We cannot possible cover all the details and have the plot still make sense in only a two-hour-long musical! So, I ask that you all—Jacob Black, I do not tolerate rude hand gestures! ...Oh, you were just scratching your nose, were you? My apologies, I'm such a silly goose, anyway, as I was saying, I ask that you all be patient and give me your full co-operation. In the words of Voldemort, 'Avada Kedavra!'"

And from that moment on, I knew. I think deep down I always did. Wait a minute—what am I talking about? Of course I knew. I constantly reminded myself of this all the time. But for some reason, the magnitude of it had never truly hit me until this very moment.

This was going to be quite the shit musical.

Avada Kedavra indeed.

* * *

After Aro's grand announcement about, more or less, _ruining_ Harry Potter in the form of a musical, we were all split up into boys and girls and told to learn the song. The girls were told to sing it an octave higher than the boys. Unsurprisingly, a lot of people couldn't read music, but there was really no need anyway because the tune was so familiar—pretty much everybody knew it off by heart. It was to the tune of Michael Jackson's "Bad" a decision Aro made "so the school could pay tribute to the King of Pop." I actually quite liked the idea. Shame that I couldn't say the same for _Harry Potter the Musical_, but the song made me laugh at least.

"Back"  
_(to the tune of "Bad" by Michael Jackson)  
sung by Voldemort_

The stage is mine  
'Cause I said so  
The Dark Lord's back  
To steal the show  
Come over here  
All you boys and gals  
Meet the Death Eaters  
They're my pals

But lately this  
Has crossed my mind:  
I'm missing something  
That I need to find  
Everyone's got it  
Except for me  
I feel left out  
And melancholy

Well they say the sky's the limit  
But we all know that's crap  
I'm gonna get what I want  
'Cause I'm a persistent chap

Chorus:

Because I'm back, I'm back  
(Back back- really, really back)

You know I'm back, I'm back, you know it  
(Back, back- really, really back)

You know I'm back, I'm back- come on, you know  
(Back, back- really, really back)

And the whole world has to answer right now  
Just to tell you once again  
Who's back...

So you wanna know  
What I'm talkin' 'bout  
Well listen up  
And I'll tell you now  
I've got eyes and ears  
Hands and feet  
But I'm missing something  
And I'm incomplete

I'm so bald  
As you can see  
I don't have hair  
And this bothers me

Well they say the sky's the limit  
But we all know that's crap  
I'm gonna get what I want  
'Cause I'm a persistent chap

(Chorus)

I could change the word tomorrow  
But first I need my hair  
I can't fight Harry in this condition  
It's not really fair

(Chorus x 3)

After performing it for Aro, we then had a dancing audition, which luckily for me was not too challenging—just various combinations of box-step, step-together-step-clap, and even, to my horror, some spirit fingers. The acting audition was much more bearable. We all had to partner up—Alice and I went together—and just say a few lines from the script:

_Narcissa Malfoy:_ Severus, I beg you. Draco needs your protection. He's my son, damn it! I need you to protect him.

_Severus Snape:_ You always come crawling back, don't you, Narcissa?

_Narcissa Malfoy: _What are you on about, Severus?

_Severus Snape: _Narcissa, I am not stupid. I saw what you wrote about my hair on Facebook, and contrary to what you may believe, I do wash it.

_Narcissa Malfoy: _I merely stated a fact, Severus. A slimy head of hair will not win you any friends.

_Severus Snape: _Would you believe, Narcissa, that I really don't care about winning friends? And would you believe that I really don't care about your problems?

_Narcissa Malfoy: _Severus, please! This will ruin my family. Oh my goodness—what will all the other witches think? Severus, you must persuade the Dark Lord to change his plans, I beg—

_Severus Snape: _Foolish woman! What makes you think he will care? Even I don't care, and I am far more sympathetic than he is! This is what the Dark Lord wishes. I cannot interfere with his plans, even if they involve your son. Besides, you've seen how depressed the Dark Lord has been lately! Good old Voldy will never be the same again if his plans don't work out!

_Narcissa Malfoy:_ But don't you see? They're not supposed to work out. His plan is for Draco to fail!

_Severus Snape:_ Now why would he want that, Narcissa?

_Narcissa Malfoy:_ He's jealous, Severus. He's jealous of my husband. Lucius has the most amazingly silky hair—it's almost as good as mine—and what does the Dark Lord have? Nothing! Which is why he's using our son as revenge. He doesn't want Draco to succeed in the mission. He wants Draco to die trying, as punishment to Lucius.

_Severus Snape_: God, you're such an idiot! The mission is to get Draco to obtain the "longer and more sought-after" hair of Albus Dumbledore. I mean, have you seen that guy's beard? He's the new Rapunzel! If Draco fails and is killed by Dumbledore, then Voldy ain't gonna get his hair, sunshine.

_Narcissa Malfoy_: Oh, but he will, Severus. He has others who can go in and do the job for him after Draco has failed. In fact, his plan is to first get Dumbledore's hair, and then...oh Severus! He's going to take Lucius's hair as well! I don't know his exact plan, but I know him! He'll find a way, Severus!

_Severus Snape_: Fine, I'll make the Unbreakable Vow to protect Draco. Now get out of my house before I change my mind.

After that, the audition process was over. Aro said "well done" to all of us and that we would find out the cast very soon. And so, all was well in the Land of Bella.

Until Alice squealed, "Time for Lauren's party!"

Shoot. Me.

Please.

**A/N: Sorry if the HP Musical is too weird for you, but Aro's speech about why it was changed is pretty much my speech to all of y'all :p  
****Lemme know what you think :)**

**To all the non-HP readers out there, please tell me what you think of having HP references made:  
****-Did the notes help?  
****-Is most of the humour lost because you're not familiar with HP, or can you still keep up?**

**Next chapter is Lauren's party! We will also find out the cast of HP6 the Musical and have email correspondence in either next chapter or the one after, depending on the detail of Lauren's party. **

**If you're a HP reader, I'd just like to point out that the convo between Snape and Narcissa is based on what happened in the chapter "Spinner's End" in HP6. **

**In other news, I was recently in a musical (nothing big, just the school one) as a dancer (I'm hopeless at singing and acting, but I absolutely LOVE dancing). We just had production week! YAY! **

**Anywho, that's all from me for now, leave me a review cuz I'd love to hear from you!**

**sunshinelollypops x**


	9. Misunderstandings & Miscommunications

**Helooo :D Okay so I'm not dead (I was just hibernating due to exams and other crap that forced me to spend unhealthly amounts of time away from ff). But now the summer holidays are five days away and in the next two months I'm aiming to try and finish this or get very close to doing so because I really don't think I can handle this with my workload next year. So yeah. Unless I am removed by force away from the computer, chapters should come out quicker. I hope. I pray. Yay. **

**Also, hugs to Pastiche for being an amazing beta and not killing me for not updating.**

**Hope you guys like this chapter―there's no Harry Potter stuff and it's also the longest chapter yet :D enjoy**

**Disclaimer: I don't own it.**

**Chapter 9- Misunderstandings & Miscommunications**

EPOV

I tiptoed into my room as stealthily as possible, hoping to get at least enough time to put my plan into action, and hoping that Alice wouldn't realize I was gone. Auditions were a drag. The _Harry Potter_ overload was not at all helpful. Firstly, I had been forced to audition for that craptastic musical in the first place, _against my will_. Secondly, nearly all of Lauren's posse had followed me in. Thirdly, I distinctly remembered Alice saying something about setting me up with someone, even though I wasn't remotely interested in meeting any girls right now, and then, to top it all off, Bella had flipped off at me yet again for some irrational reason that seemed to exist only in her brain―I wouldn't be surprised if the girl was bi-polar.

At this point, I needed my plan to work out so I wouldn't suicide at Lauren's party. At the moment, Bella was locked in Alice's torture chamber being molested by mascara wands and the like. I shuddered with the knowledge that it was only a matter of time before I'd be in there too.

I walked into the bombsite that was my bedroom and located my laptop, peeping out from under a mess of CDs. _I hope she gets this in time,_I thought. I opened up Hotmail and began a new message:

_Dear I.S.,_

_So I realize this is a stupid question because as a fellow Lauren-hater, I would never want to go to her party, and I completely understand that you are going to answer "no" when I ask you if you will meet me there, but I'm going to ask you anyway._

_I.S.: Will you please, pretty please, meet me at Lauren's party tonight?_

_...the answer's "no," isn't it? You're shaking your head as you read this, aren't you? Well, before you make up your mind, I guess I better explain why I'm asking..._

"Edward!"

_Damn it, Alice._

"Edward, hurry up—I need to get you into your costume! Don't think I didn't see you sneaking off!"

I huffed and got up to see Alice, leaving my half-written message for the moment. "I'm here." I said, flatly.

"Oh, good," she handed me my costume, "go put this on."

I held it up to inspect it, then immediately wondered what I was supposed to be dressing up as. All there was were plain, black pants and a black shirt—both of which, I realized, Alice had just nicked from my wardrobe.

Seeing my confusion, she said, "That's not your whole costume. We'll add accessories later."

Which we did, after I'd changed into the pants and shirt. Alice gave me a red and black cape to wear, and finally—vampire teeth!

"Okay, you're all set!" said Alice as she smoothed out my cape. "When Emmett is ready, he will take you to Lauren's."

"What about you and Bella? Aren't you gonna come with us? And what about that girl you said you were going to set me up with?" What? I was curious! Doesn't mean I'm any more eager though—I just wanted to know what I was in for.

"What girl? Oh, right, yeah—about that, well...she's, um, she's...sick? Yes, that's it! She's sick, she can't make it tonight, isn't that sad? But don't worry because there's always Bella!" she said, ignoring my annoyed expression, "Oh and Emmett is taking you because there's no way you're seeing our costumes before the party. So we'll be meeting you there. Anyway, I need to go get dressed now. Bella's waiting for me back in my room. See you at the party!" She skipped into her room and quickly shut the door.

I bolted back upstairs hoping that I'd have time to finish my email to I.S. before Emmett arrived. Luckily I did, managing to proof-read twice before Emmett came barging into my room just as I was closing my laptop.

The ride to Lauren's was peaceful, not normal for a car ride with Emmett, but I wasn't complaining—it was such a contrast to the chaos and catastrophe that we would no doubt have to face inside. I could hear the music before I could see the house. A clear indication that I would partially lose my hearing tonight.

Walking into Lauren's party with Emmett was a weird experience. Somehow, through all the noise and bodies and alcohol and grinding and embarrassing costumes, all eyes managed to find us. I felt compelled to either a) scream, b) run away, c) hide or d) all of the above. All of a sudden, if you were part of the crowd, you were the Red Sea and Lauren Mallory was Moses. Slowly everyone parted and to my horror there were no obstacles standing between Lauren and me.

Except Emmett—thank god—and I quickly decided to go for option B and darted away before I could be detected. I ran, dodged, weaved and ran some more before smashing a window with my bare hands and jumping out. I briefly commended myself for my graceful, cat-like landing by patting myself on the back―something I had picked up from Eric Yorkie―before running far far away from the scary evil place I had just encountered. I ran home and spent the rest of my night in the tranquil and calming atmosphere of my room.

Okay, so that was a lie.

Lauren Mallory came prowling towards me, her features contorted into what I knew―from previous experience―was her "sexy face."

_Ahem_.

She was getting closer.

I tried to slowly back away but there were too many people. Closer. I stepped back. Closer. Step back. Closer.

_Oh shit._

_Oh shit._

_Oh shit._

Too close.

"Ed...Ed...Edbert—no, Edna! I find you sexy... so... bootylicious... I don't think you're ready for this jelly...wanna come upsta—hey, don't go!"

Option B was my salvation. If people were jungle animals—which wasn't too hard to imagine looking around the room—then I was an ant; she, an elephant ready to sit down and smother me with her rear. It didn't matter that there was nowhere for us to sit. When there's a will there's a way, and Lauren would make sure of it, no matter her lack of sobriety and a brain.

Luckily there was a small, secluded spot in the backyard between a few large trees that had gone unnoticed. Probably because you wouldn't find it unless you went looking, and most people wouldn't go looking for a small, lonely spot at a party like Lauren's. Besides, for the few that did, most would prefer a bedroom… if you catch my drift.

I sat down on the cool grass and quickly logged on to my email on my phone and emailed I.S. the details of where to meet me.

_Now, let's just hope she checks her email._

After an hour of having fun times twiddling my thumbs, I concluded that that wasn't going to happen. I sighed and got up off the ground where I had been sitting, and reluctantly headed back inside. I suppose it had been pretty late notice—after all, it was a Friday night, and she might have had other plans, and on the off chance that she _was _coming tonight with no influence from me, it was unreasonable to expect her to check her email at the exact time I had sent it, when most girls like her would've been getting ready for the party, just like Alice and Bella were. Disappointed, I went inside and surprisingly managed to keep to myself for about two hours—I gathered people were too drunk to notice my presence, which was a nice change—before Jessica stumbled clumsily over to me, nearly spilling her drink everywhere.

Solution: Option B.

'Nuff said.

I went to find Emmett and, upon seeing him chatting up Rosalie Hale, I decided I wouldn't be terribly missed if I went for a wander around the neighborhood for some time. So I did just that, and the abundance of oxygen was much appreciated by my lungs, as was the cooling effect the breeze had on my overheated body.

I can't believe I never realized how hot it had gotten in there!

I kept walking until I noticed a playground on my right, at which point I halted when I saw someone sitting on the swings alone. Upon closer inspection, I noticed it was a girl, and immediately realized how late it was and how she shouldn't be here alone. I walked up and tapped her on the shoulder.

She turned around, took one look at me and screamed. "Gahhh!!!"

"Crap! Sorry if I scared you, I didn't mean to sneak up on you."

"Why are you dressed as a vampire?! I nearly shit myself!"

I knew that voice. I confirmed her identity as a passing car's headlights illuminated her face for a second, but that was all the time I needed. "Bella? What are you doing here?"

BPOV

Much to Alice's annoyance, I looked relatively normal thanks to my angel's wings getting urinated on at the last minute, courtesy of the neighbor's cat. Why Pumpkin was in the Cullen house, I had no idea, but I was very, very grateful for him. Alice had yelled at him while pointing her shoe at his plump, innocent-looking face, while he meowed in remorse for his actions. But the damage was done, so I picked up Pumpkin and cuddled him as thanks, before putting him down on the footpath outside. Now I was just wearing a pretty, flowing white dress with my hair down and make-up natural. I even got to ditch the halo because it looked out-of-place without wings, and to that Alice had reluctantly agreed. I looked like a normal human girl, something—I discovered—I did not have in common with anyone else at Lauren's party. Meh, since when did I have _anything_ in common with them anyway? Many were dressed in nothing but a few scraps of material accompanied by either fairy wings, bunny ears, or devil horns. Typical, I s'pose.

Walking into Lauren's party with Alice was a predictable experience. Oxygen suddenly became unavailable and the concept of personal space was completely disregarded due to the alarmingly high number of horny teenagers in the room―and their constant need to rub against one another. I experienced this first-hand when Tyler Crowley stupidly assumed that it was okay for him to rub his junk on me.

"What the _fuck_ is that? Whose is it? Why is there? Remove it before I castrate you with a chainsaw."

"Ooh, feisty! Relax, baby, you're night is about to get a whole lot bett―_ow! _Shit that hurts!"

"Good." Dumbass thinks he can get away with it. Well, he is sorely mistaken.

"_I think my balls are paralyzed! _Ow, shit, crap―_burning! _Fuck that can't be good. Oh no―what if I have to amputate them? _What the fuck did you do?!_"

"I don't enjoy being violated. Nor do a lot of people," I said before shoving my way through the violation festival that was taking place and running into the nearest bedroom―which was surprisingly and thankfully empty.

How is this fun? Who would want to spend their Friday night here? _Everyone in this house. _I sighed and sat down on the bed, taking a moment to look around the room. The lights were off, but the room was illuminated by a computer screen. The computer on the desk in the corner of the room had been left on, and if I ignored the commotion downstairs and listened closely I could hear the machine humming. I got up and sat on the swivel chair positioned in front of the desk, and then opened up the web browser. I logged onto Hotmail. _What? Might as well―not like I have anything else to do. _I was surprised to find _two new messages from E.C._! Excited―for the first time this evening―I opened up the earlier one and read it.

_Dear I.S.,_

_...Well, before you make up your mind, I guess I better explain why I'm asking._

_I have had a horrific afternoon involving singing and dancing and general weirdness, which by the way I had no control over, and now I have yet again been roped into doing something that I don't want to do. Namely, attending Lauren Mallory's party and consequently setting myself up for life-long mental scarring. To summarize my feelings in three words: I am scared._

_Of course, I understand if you can't come_―_this is a pretty big favor I'm asking and you probably have plans. No hard feelings if you can't make it. But if by some miracle you decide to throw me a floaty and stop me from drowning in an ocean of bimbos, I will be eternally grateful. I'll send you the details of where to meet me once I get there and find a good spot._

_Love, E.C._

Oh my god, I finally get to meet him! Squee!

...Not that I was in love or anything, it's just that I had finally found a friend that I could totally and completely relate to, _and _be able to tell him exactly how I felt about anything because our anonymity allowed us to do so without anyone getting hurt. I was so excited to finally find out E.C.'s true identity!

Wait―hang on a sec. If I meet him now then it won't be anonymous anymore, will it? He'll just become one of my other friends. Friends like Jake, Nessie, Angela and Ben―people I knew I could trust, but also people with whom I still found myself omitting certain things or holding back when in a conversation.

I felt torn. Part of me wanted to maintain our anonymous relationship, but the other part was crazy with curiosity. They say "curiosity killed the cat but satisfaction brought it back," but what if I wasn't satisfied with my E.C.? Would meeting him be a total disappointment? What if he was someone who I wasn't on good terms with in real life?

What if he was disappointed with me?

I decided to check out the second email before making my decision.

_Hallo :)_

_If you decide to come tonight, meet me in the backyard. There's a spot in between a few trees next to the shed. It's a bit hard to find, but you'll know you've found it when you see me there._

_E.C. xx_

This made it even tougher to stay away. I now knew exactly where to find him and already my legs were itching to get up and go seek him. I hoped that if I went to find him that we'd still be able to confide in each other just as we were able to when out identities were hidden from each other―when I didn't have to bottle things up and felt so comfortable telling him things I couldn't even tell Jake. I told E.C about Charlie and the divorce, and so far he's the only one I've talked about it with. It felt so good not to have to bottle things up and to get a second opinion―an opinion that was in no way, shape or form biased. I also wanted to be able to ask for his opinion on other things in the future and to not be worried about dishonesty, and I wanted for him to be able to do the same with me. I hoped that none of these qualities of our conversations would be lost if we met in person, but I doubted I could be that lucky. Once you know who someone is, who their friends are, how they act, and their position in the school's social hierarchy, it was hard not to predict their opinions instead of asking for them personally, because you thought you knew them and their way of thinking already anyway. Once you knew who they liked and who they disliked, it was hard to be honest about your frustrations with different people―for example, Lauren―if you knew there'd be a chance of them taking offence.

If I really thought about it, meeting E.C. would mean the end of our correspondence as we knew it. Sure, we'd probably make great friends, but I couldn't help but feel that some parts of our correspondence―the parts that made it great and unique―would be lost.

But at the same time I was dying with curiosity. To finally put a face to the name―and his _proper and real _name too―would be amazing. I wanted so badly to be able to hear his voice, or have a normal conversation face to face. I wanted to hear his intonation and see his facial expressions as he spoke, instead of trying to picture it through his words. I wanted to witness first-hand his distaste for Lauren Mallory, and be able to chime in with my own tidbits of frustration whenever I wanted to. I wanted to talk continuously without the stop-and-start nature of emails. I wanted a lot of things that I couldn't get with the way we were corresponding at the moment.

Wow, I really do sound like I'm in love with him.

But that can't be true, can it? I mean, I've developed quite the infatuation over Edward Cullen―could I like two guys at the same time? My feelings for Edward were based primarily on his looks―never a good thing―whereas I liked E.C. for his personality. Damn it, I wished I could just morph them both together to create the perfect boyfriend. But they were both so different. While Edward was so beautiful he was a complete asshole, and while E.C. had a killer personality, I had a hard time picturing him.

_Which is why you should meet up with him_, I told myself. But what if Edward is still hotter? Okay, I am being really shallow right now. _Personality is what counts. _So true. I shouldn't worry over being disappointed with E.C. Looks are overrated. There is no point in being attracted to someone who can't make me laugh, someone who I can't talk to comfortably. It may be true that opposites attract, and even if by some crazy chance Edward did like me, we would have nothing to talk about. Whereas with E.C. I had plenty to talk about.

But hey―I don't even know if I like him like that! At the moment, we're just friends. I don't want to ruin all that. Okay, I need to stop making things so unnecessarily complicated. Besides, the curiosity is too overwhelming! I should just go for it; let fate decide the rest.

So with my new found conviction and determination to really get to know my friend, I headed off to the backyard. To my slight annoyance, my personal bubble was popped multiple times, but only because I had to squeeze my way through the masses, which was to be expected―no Tyler repeats, thank god! I finally got to the backyard and searched for the space that E.C. had referred to. The shed, it was meant to be next to the shed. I found the shed, and then the inviting little space surrounded by a few large trees.

But no E.C.

_Strange._I decided to wait for a bit, but an hour later I realized he wasn't going to turn up. Don't ask me why I was so disappointed. I guess I wanted to meet him really badly after all. _Why had he stood me up? _I clenched my teeth, suddenly angry at him. I checked my watch and saw that it was now nearing ten o'clock. I began to realize that I might've gotten his message a bit too late―what if _he_ had been waiting for _me_? And then gave up because _I _was the one who didn't come. _I_ disappointed _him._Well, now I was annoyed at myself! I huffed and decided to leave―_maybe a walk would be beneficial._

The calm of the night was soothing and I soon found myself barefoot sitting on a swing at a playground, rocking gently and appreciating the breeze. I thought about E.C. and how I would apologize to him as soon as I had access to a computer. I began to reconsider whether meeting him was a good idea again. Before tonight, I hadn't yet considered it properly. The spontaneity of his request to meet up excited me, probably pushing me towards agreeing to it. I really had no idea what to do. But, I decided to think about it later and just relax for now.

Which I was doing wonderfully, until some dude in a vampire get-up thought it would be a good idea to just materialize without warning!

"Gahhh!!!"

"Crap! Sorry if I scared you, I didn't mean to sneak up on you."

"Why are you dressed as a vampire?! I nearly shit myself!" _How embarrassing._ Not ideal in a white dress either.

"Bella? What are you doing here?" Fuck, he knew my name! Pedophile!

"How do you know who I am? Who are you? Get away from me!" I got up and was about to test out some self-defense I had learnt last year from Coach Clapp when Mr. Pedo-looking Vamp-boy held up his hands in surrender.

"Relax, it's Edward. You know―Lauren's personal couch? Or do you not remember calling me that?"

"Oh―wait, what? Oh right, that." _I had to admit―I felt pretty bad about that._ "Sorry about that." I expected him to make some smart-ass comment and throw my apology back in my face, but he didn't.

"It's fine, don't worry about it." _What? Since when is he so forgiving? _Damn it, I had already been formulating some kick-ass comebacks to the insults I had imagined he would say.

But I'd be lying if I said I enjoyed fighting with him, when my heart's instinct was to grab that wonderfully disheveled mop of bronze hair and pull him to me until his lips were on mine. I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't relieved―maybe even hopeful―when he told me it was all okay, and not to worry―something I do a lot these dyas, especially when it concerns him. He sighed and sat down on the swing next to me. I was kinda glad he was staying, but my pride got the better of me.

"What are you doing here? 'Cause no offence, but I kinda want to be alone right now." That was a lie. "And I still think you're an ass." That wasn't.

"You think I'm an ass? Well hey―I wasn't the one who started all this hating, okay?" I was about to interrupt when he held up his hand and said, "But we will discuss that in a minute." As if! He just told me it was 'fine' and that I shouldn't 'worry about it'! Asswipe took it all back! _Dude you are gonna be so sorry―I still have plenty of comeback ammo..._

_..._but on second thoughts, I didn't want to make things worse. _Yeah yeah, I know―backing out of a verbal throwdown. Never thought I'd see the day either. _

"No, we will not! You are going to leave now so I can have my peace!" There. I did it. _I gave you a way out._ So please, pretty please, _just stop being a dipshit about everything and_ _leave._

"Hate to break it to you, but these swings are open to the general public. You don't own them. So, I can stay. You can deal." _And you, Edward Cullen, can go fuck yourself!_

"Argh! You're so annoying! Why are you here―can't you tell that you're not welcome? I don't want you here!" All lies. But he needed to hear that, at least to somewhat deflate his ego. He surprised me by looking a little hurt by my comment, but only for a split second before he recovered.

"That's too bad, because as annoying as you are, I can't just leave you here alone. Do you realize how late it is? How dark it is? The danger you're putting yourself in? I may be an ass, but I'm not going to leave you here."

I was dumbstruck by his words. I never expected this from Edward Cullen. Part of me was weirded out―_does he think he's my dad now, or something? _Another part of me was slightly hopeful―_does this mean he cares about me?_ My stomach did little somersaults! But then my brain caught up and crushed my hopes―_Bella, are you stupid? He wouldn't care about you! You know that! _

I fucking hated common sense―where does it get off telling me this? Too bad it's right about everything.

Edward looked at me, "So, as long as you decide to stay here, you'll have to put up with me." He smiled briefly, before looking down at his feet, as if he was nervous about how I would respond to this. _Odd. _Why would he be nervous? Maybe he was nervous 'cause he's afraid of the dark...

..._nah. _But then what was he nervous about?

"Okay," I said simply. We sat in silence for a while, before I asked him one of many questions that was bothering me. "What do you mean you weren't the one who started all this? Are you blaming me?"

"Why are you acting so surprised? You're the one who became so bitter so quickly! I did nothing to deserve that kind of hostility, and I was so confused, so I reacted as any normal person would―I reciprocated. Now you hate me, and I hate you, but you know what? Blame yourself!"

Now I was pissed, and I wanted to interrupt but he kept going, "If you had just told me what was wrong―which, to this day, I still have no clue about―then maybe we wouldn't hate each other so much!"

"It's not my fault you turned out to be a total jerk!"

"You were asking for it! What do you expect, Bella? That I grovel for forgiveness over something I apparently did wrong, yet have no clue about?"

"You really don't know?"

"What does it look like to you, huh?"

"Quit being sarcastic! Ugh―see what I mean? You're a jerk!"

"Jerks wouldn't do what I'm doing for you now Bella. As much as you don't appreciate it, I'm doing you a favor by staying here. The least you can do is explain to me why this whole thing started in the first place." He had a point, even though I was reluctant to admit it.

"You wanna know why you're a jerk, then?"

"Yes, Bella. Tell me why I'm a jerk." I hated his sarcastic tone. I told him so.

He replied, "Me? _My sarcasm?_ Hah! Well that is some fine hypocrisy right there, ladies and gentlemen! Look at you, the Queen of sarcasm, getting all frustrated at me when I beat you at your own game! Now you see how annoying it is!" I glared at him, but opted to explain his jerk-like ways instead of firing insults right back at him. He needed to be put in his place. The thing with insults is that while they maybe more entertaining and witty―hence why they are my personal preference―, they can also be slightly irrelevant and exaggerated. But no one can argue with the Truth Strategy―telling someone the ugly, blunt truth about the situation is the ultimate comeback, because usually it's the very thing they're most afraid of hearing and being forced to accept. Edward Cullen was _so _going to get it.

"You, Edward Cullen, are a jerk, and here is why: you're friends with Lauren Mallory, first of all. Do you know what that says about your character? That you want to be like them. You are friends with stupid morons and are therefore becoming a stupid moron; you are turning into one of them in your quest for popularity, what don't you understand about that?"

"Wow wow wow, hang on―_what? _Friends with Lauren Mallory? Quest for popularity? You really have _no idea _what you're talking about!"

"So there's more to it, then? Because I honestly don't see how that's possible."

"That's because _you don't want to._ You're too caught up with being right that you're completely ignoring the possibility that you might be totally wrong. Which, of course, you are," he replied, smugly.

Bitch. I wanted to punch him.

"Then tell me, Mr. Know-it-all, how exactly I am wrong about this." In all honesty, now I wasn't so confident. He seemed so sure of himself, so sure that I had gotten it all wrong. I waited to see what he had to say.

"Firstly, I _do not nor will I ever_ consider Lauren Mallory and her followers as my friends."

"So you're using them! I was right! You _are _on a quest for popularity. You know, I always knew you were a jerk, but I never knew you would stoop so low, it's really quite―"

"_Stop interrupting me and let me explain! _You know, if anyone's a jerk in this situation, it's you. You assume way too much, and now look where it's gotten us! I _am not _friends with Lauren, and I _am not _on a popularity quest! I _am not _using them, and I _do not _like them."

"I... I don't get it," I admitted.

"I may not think of them as my friends, but Emmett―my brother―_he is my friend, _and he is completely infatuated with Rosalie, who happens to sit with Lauren and Jessica. I've told him before to just ignore them and ask her out―he's never hesitated with girls before! But she makes him nervous, and he feels that it's necessary to be part of her group to get her to notice him. But those girls are relentless―we can't catch a break! They follow us everywhere, they even _sit on us!_ Though, you already knew that, didn't you?" he paused, "The only thing stopping me from leaving their group is Emmett. He can't stay by himself and I know that if the situation was reversed, I'd be too freaked out to stay alone too. He really likes Rosalie, and until Emmett gets his girl and convinces her to leave Lauren and Jessica, then I'm staying. I don't know if you get that or not, but it's the truth. I don't want to be popular and I don't wanna be like them. But I'm not gonna abandon my brother. I don't care how trivial you think this is, or if you think Emmett should find another way to Rosalie. This is his way so I'm gonna support him."

"Oh." Damn, he used the Truth Strategy against me_, _and now I had no idea what to say to him. I couldn't retaliate, or be smug, or get angry and storm off. I couldn't come up with anything. _That's the whole point of the Truth Strategy, idiot! It's meant to leave you speechless! _

"'Oh?' That's it?"

"Well, it's not what I expected." Definitely not what I expected. Who knew he was so chummy with his brother? If he didn't like Lauren and Jessica, then hanging around them all day must some ordeal. _Sue me for admiring him right now_.

I briefly wondered why he was so determined to explain all of this to me. After all, why should he care what I think of him? His ego was an unburstable bubble of big-headedness. Surely a petty little argument with boring old Bella Swan wouldn't stir such a response from him, someone who would have better things to do with his time than to worry about patching things up with me? Again, that little fragment of hope reappeared inside me. _Maybe he really does care..._

We sat in silence for a while before I asked him, "So... you're scared of Lauren and Jessica, huh?"

He laughed, "It's not like that. Like I said, I would have no trouble leaving if it wasn't for Emmett, and Emmett would leave if it wasn't for Rosalie. In the meantime, we just have to put up with them. And what we're afraid of is _what _we'll have to put up with and _for how long. _But when the time comes, we're gonna have fun telling them _exactly _what we think of them. But right now, we gotta remain in their good books."

"I'm... I... I don't know what to say."

"Listen, Bella," he said softly, "I'm sorry if I was horrible to you. I hope my explanation helped you to understand why, but it's still no excuse for my behavior. I'm sorry." Oh my, this boy needed to stop! _Seriously, Edward, either be a dick or be nice. Stop switching personalities! It's too hard to deal with!_ I needed to decide whether or not I still wanted to strangle him, and the fact that that decision was changing every five minutes was making my brain hurt.

Nobody else I knew ever made me like this! I either liked someone, or I didn't. Yes or no. I could always place people in one of the two categories and they would remain there comfortably, without a fuss. But not Edward, oh no. He liked to jump back and forth and taunt me and keep me on my toes. I didn't know what to expect from him anymore.

But I s'pose being angry at him didn't work out too well, not to mention it was extremely exhausting. I decided to just be nice, because _so what if I wanted him to like me for a change?_ And he had been so honest, and was right too when he said I had assumed way too much, something I really wasn't very proud of myself for.

"No, no, no, don't apologize," I said, "I jumped to conclusions. This is my fault, and I'm really sorry Edward. For everything. I hope you can forgive me." I looked up at him through my lashes, silently begging him to. I felt _so _bad―saying sorry out loud made me realize just how much I had completely messed up, gotten everything wrong―if he didn't forgive me then I wouldn't blame him. Or maybe I would. Who knows these days? Certainly not me.

"Of course I forgive you, Bella―all we had to do was talk about it, and there's no point in holding any grudges." He smiled. Wow. _I've decided I love it when he does that. _"Truce?"

I smiled back. "Truce."

**Yayyyy happy! **

**One thing I'm worried about: does the explanation of the Edward/Bella hate/misunderstanding make sense, or does it sound forced and unlikely? Coz it makes sense to me but I don't know if I've explained it terribly well. Lemme know :D**

**sunshinelollypops x**


	10. Fun & Games

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight**

**Chapter 10- Fun & Games**

EPOV

Truce! We called a truce! My heart sang happy songs, and I was unable to control the huge-ass grin that had erupted on my face. I could only hope that Bella wasn't too freaked out by it.

Thank God I'd found her here. Why on Earth was she here in the middle of the night, and more importantly, why was she here alone?! I didn't even want to think about the trouble she could've gotten herself into. Although, I wondered what would've happened if she had done the sensible thing and not come here alone—or even at all. Would I have tried to sort things out with her in the future, when I wasn't obligated to stay with her and keep her safe? Was there a possibility that such a truce might never have happened? I mentally shoo-ed those thoughts away. She was here now, and she didn't hate me. That was all that mattered.

After our truce declaration, I was pleasantly surprised to find how easy it was to talk to her, or even not talk at all and just listen to the movement of the night in silence—not the awkward kind of silence either, but just a peaceful, calming silence; one where we didn't feel the need to force small talk, which is something I always had to do with people other than my family. I had never been so free of awkward silences. It was a nice change and one that I welcomed.

I saw movement in my peripheral vision and saw that Bella was swinging on her swing. Only a little bit, but it was enough to make me join in, too. She took it as a challenge though, and started to put more force into her swings. I opened my mouth to say something but saw how high she was starting to swing, so my competitive side won out, and I decided to try and overtake her and swing higher.

I was gaining height and doing really well, but that all ended when I put in a little too much force, lost my balance and fell clumsily towards the ground. It was so dark that I couldn't even see where I had landed, but judging by the leafy presence of various plants tickling my nose, I was probably in a bush. The light of the streetlights didn't reach me—it was pitch black where I was. I was so tangled that I found myself stuck in my current position, unable to move. My left leg was in the air, and my other one was dangling out the side of the bush, while the rest of my body was curled up, taking up minimal space—not that there was a whole lot of that in the first place. My right hand was going numb because it was sandwiched between my ass and the ground. _Embarrassing._ I hurriedly extricated it, doing whatever possible to make my position any less awkward. Nonetheless, I still looked like a weirdo.

"Edward?"

_Shit, she was going to see me like this! Crap, crap, crap..._

"Edward, are you okay? Are you hurt?" Bella's panicked voice said as she peered over the bush to look at me. "Edward?!" Oh right, I didn't answer her.

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine, everything's just peachy over here! Yep, I'm having time of my life," I replied, rather sarcastically too. Looking back, however, maybe I should've faked a broken bone or two because now that she knew I was okay, she lost it, getting into a massive laughing fit. "Shut up! It's not funny!" I said, annoyed that she found my predicament so amusing. She would never forget this, or let me forget it, for that matter.

"The hell it isn't! You...I...hahahaha....my God, your face! I...saw...your legs...before I...saw...you," she choked out, and I could imagine the tears of laughter that were running down her face.

"Hey, I could've been severely injured! You know—brain trauma, broken bones, loss of limbs?! What happened to you being all concerned, huh?"

"Screw that, you're perfectly fine! Or "peachy", as you like to put it...hahahaha..."

"Well, are you gonna help me up yet, or what?" I snapped.

"Oh, yeah, I forgot about that, you were just too funny—haha... 'Kay, sorry, couldn't help it. Here, grab my hand." I did, and she helped me up. "Oh, and here's your shoe."

My shoe? I looked down at my feet and saw that I was missing one. How did I not realize? "It went flying before you did," she said as I slid my foot in. "Into the pond," she added, and I immediately felt water seeping into my socks. I groaned, but she was laughing again, and this time it was infectious. Soon we were both rolling around on the grass in silent laughter, having difficulty breathing but not caring because I, for one, had been missing these kinds of moments lately. Who knew Bella would be the one to bring them back again?

It was an amazing thing to feel free to smile and laugh with her, without forcing a frown because I supposedly hated her and was too proud to drop the facade. Of course there were times where I felt as though I did hate her—she could be so annoying sometimes, and she knew it!—, but that was never truly the case. How could it be, when I knew deep down that I liked her? I was so happy that we weren't fighting anymore, so happy that I had swallowed my pride and worked things out with her. And who knows—we might even become friends! Although I knew I shouldn't push it—we'd only just started making progress, and I didn't want to ruin it by acting overly chummy and making her uncomfortable.

After we had calmed down a little, and I was no longer on the verge of peeing all over myself, Bella's phone rang, and her ringtone almost made me start laughing again. _Almost_. I had to control it because I couldn't have her asking me why I found her ringtone so funny. It was Katy Perry's 'Ur So Gay', coincidentally the same song that I.S. had used for the tune of her poem on Lauren Mallory, which automatically caused me to mentally replace the original lyrics with I.S.'s ones. I would've loved to tell Bella all about it—_I reckon she and I.S. would make a great team_—but I felt as though I should keep I.S. a secret for now, and that even though her little poem wasn't some big, scandalous secret, I felt like I'd be betraying her trust if I said anything. Although apparently I was terrible at disguising my internal laughter because Bella looked at me quizzically, but thankfully didn't ask me about it because she had to answer her phone.

"Hello...? Gah!" Bella instantly yanked the phone away from her ear, and I knew why without even asking. Although I was sitting about two feet away from her, I could easily hear Alice's loud, angry voice coming through the phone. We may as well have put her on speaker—she was that loud.

She was that angry. "...and I have been looking for you everywhere!" Alice said. "Do you know how worried I was? No, you don't! Because you weren't answering your phone! I've called about a gazillion times, Bella! What if you got kidnapped? Or raped?!"

_My thoughts exactly—that was why I stayed. _

Alice continued on her rant. "Tell me where you are so I can come and get you! ...Bella? Answer me, damn it!"

"Oh, right, um..." Clearly Bella hadn't been paying attention.

I chuckled.

Alice heard me and freaked out. "Who was that? Whoever you are, if you lay a hand on Bella, I will personally put your balls in a shredder while you are sleeping! Now you listen to me, you sick son of a bitch, Bella's dad is the Chief of Police here in Forks so if you so much as—"

"Alice, relax, it's me. Edward. _Your brother_," I said, before she called the cops on my ass.

"Exactly. No rapists here," Bella added.

"Oh," said Alice. "That's a relief, although it's past one o'clock in the morning, so I reckon you guys should probably head back. Unless Edward wants to get on Charlie Swan's bad side." She paused, before adding, "He has a gun, right Bella?"

I shuddered.

"Anywho, I'm gonna go home now—Jasper's giving me a lift. Is it okay if you guys go back with Emmett, 'cause I've already—"

"Wait a second—who is this Jasper fellow?" I asked. She was _not _getting a lift with some guy she just met!

"Relax, Edward—he's a total sweetie, and he's Rosalie's brother, not a complete stranger. Besides, I met him before at musical auditions and he..."

I wasn't even listening anymore. I was not okay with this, and she knew it, but I couldn't really stop her from going—I was here, and she was at the party. "Do you have your pepper spray?" I asked.

"Yes, Edward." I could hear her getting annoyed with me. Oh well. _Stranger Danger talks are of the utmost importance._

"Well it'll be no good if you don't actually use it, now will it? If he tries to hurt you, or make you do something you don't wanna do, or hold your hand, or even breathe near you, or—"

"I'm going now." She cut me off?! "Be nice to Bella. By the way, since when did you guys hang out? I thought you hated each other." I was surprised she hadn't asked earlier.

"We sorted things out." I smiled at Bella. "It's all good now."

"Oh, that's great! You guys were starting to get annoying." _Blunt as always_. "Well, I better go now. See you guys later!"

"Bye," said Bella and I said in unison.

I started to get up and held out my hand to Bella to pull her up too. "Alice is right—it's getting late, and we should get back to Lauren's before Emmett leaves without us."

"Damn it, I was just starting to—" she stopped before finishing her sentence.

"Starting to what, Bella?"

"Have fun," she said, quietly.

I was worried—she sounded as though she wasn't sure if we were supposed to have fun, if it was allowed between us. "Is that a bad thing?"

"No. I just never thought I'd say that to you." My heart sank, and it probably showed on my face too, because immediately she began explaining. "Not that I didn't want to. It's just that with the way we were going, I thought we'd be like, I dunno, arch-enemies or something." She laughed. "But you're a pretty cool guy, Edward. I'm glad we sorted everything out."

_She thinks I'm cool!_ I nearly squealed with delight. _Edward that is so not cool. Never, ever, ever squeal. I don't care how delighted you are, you'll sound like a moron. _"Me too," I smiled. _That's good._ A normal reaction. None of this _squealing _business.

I marveled at the carefree and beautiful smile that graced her face, making me wonder how I ever had enough reason to replace it with anger and frustration. If I had just made more of an effort to talk about everything with her than I did in the past, then none of this hatred would have existed between us. And hating Bella Swan was not an easy thing to do, because I hated hating her.

I was crazy about her, and as hard as it was to hate her, feeling this way about her was so much harder. Because I knew there was absolutely no way she liked me the way I liked her, and that hurt like hell. She didn't like me because I was the only stupid fuck who'd constantly hate on the person they wanted to be with most. In my head, if I hated her, then I wouldn't have to worry about admitting my feelings for her and being vulnerable to rejection. She was the type who'd voice her thoughts—I was intimidated by this: it meant that if I was of no interest to her, she'd have no trouble shooting me down. I was afraid she'd just trample on my heart if I tried to give it to her. It wasn't that she was cruel; it was that she wouldn't do anything she didn't want to do. For example, being with me. I could hide behind our fighting, use it as an excuse to myself—an excuse for why I wasn't trying to get her to like me back. Because damn it, I wanted her to.

But Bella didn't like me.

She had no such feelings for me. _And how do I know this, you ask?_ Well, she probably wasn't stupid enough to do what I did—to fuel a fight with the person that she cared about the most. Only I would do that. If she liked someone, she'd probably just tell 'em and hope for the best. Like I said, she voiced her thoughts. And with me, her thoughts had seemed to be quite far from "I am crazy in love with you, Edward, let me have your babies." No, I was just another person who had ticked her off, and she had given me the same treatment as she would've given Lauren and Jessica. I hated that she had me grouped with them, which is why I felt it was so necessary to stress that I was _not friends with them_ and was nothing like them. I would prove that to her.

"So are you pumped for the musical, or what?" she asked, as we began walking back to Lauren's.

"Ha ha, yeah, totally. Can't wait."

She didn't miss my sarcasm. "I wonder who we'll get cast as..."

"Crap! I'm gonna get cast as one of those loonies?"

"What did you think, Edward?" She laughed. "But yes, you will."

"Argh, this is all Alice's fault! She's the one who put my name down on that list without even asking m—"

"Are you serious? She did that to me, too! Well, _not exactly_. I mean, I knew she was signing me up. But that was only a follow up to the promise she had me make to Coach Clapp. She somehow twisted everything around so that a musical would sound like an appropriate alternative to push-ups."

"Oh, okay. Wait—what?" I was confused.

"Long story short, Coach Clapp found out about certain...issues in my life. Nosy bitch. Anyway, he reckons push-ups will solve everything, and while he was explaining this to me, Alice intervened and said that the musical would suffice in place of the push-ups. Dunno how that made sense in either of their heads—I think she gave him some crap about us doing push-ups as part of our rehearsals, or something."

"...okay then." I wanted to ask what those problems in her life were, but I was afraid that that would be pushing our truce too far.

"Yeah. So that's how I got roped into doing the musical. It's weird, 'cause usually I'm pretty awesome at standing up for myself, but Alice is a force of nature. It's like she has _superpowers_."

"I know what you mean. But sometimes, I just let her do her thing. For some reason, when she makes the decisions, things have a way of working themselves out. It's like she's psychic and knows that even the most ridiculous suggestion will work in my favor if I run with it, no questions asked...Did that make any sense, or was it just weird? I mean, I know she not psychic, I'm not stupid, but—"

"I get it, Edward. It's okay." She laughed at me again. And if what she said next wasn't the ultimate ice-breaker, then I didn't know what was. "Wanna play The Penis Game?" The What Game?

"Uh, I'm sorry, w-what?" I stuttered.

"You know, The Penis Game! It's where I say penis, and then you say penis, and then I say penis, and then you say penis etc. etc.... But there's a _catch_! Each time you have to say it louder than the person before you. Whoever says it loudest wins!" She noticed my hesitation. "Oh, come on, Edward! It's not like anyone's around anyway. It's just you and me, 'kay? Alright, I'll start."

"O...kay then."

"Penis," she whispered, with a goofy grin. I sighed. This was going to be interesting.

"Penis," I whispered, a little more forcefully.

"Penis," she said, in her normal speaking voice. Shit, we were past the whispering stage already?

"Penis," I said, a little louder.

"Peeeeeeeeeeeenis!" she said in a sing-song voice.

"**Penis**!" I yelled.

She looked at me, surprised, before screaming out, "Doodle, Willie, PENIS!" _Shit, how was I supposed to top that?_

"PENIS!" I screamed—and it fucking echoed! _Good job, Edward. _I was grinning like an idiot. I looked at Bella and saw her clutching her stomach, laughing like there was no tomorrow. I was about to start laughing too when she pointed behind me.

Jesus, Mary and Joseph—we were in front of Lauren's house already? How had I not realized? How had I not heard the deafening music as we were approaching? I mean, I knew I was easily distracted by Bella, but I didn't know she could distract me that much. People in the front yard were giving me weird looks, and now I wasn't so glad that I had made the word "penis" echo.

"Why didn't you tell me that we were here already?" I whispered to Bella.

"And where would the fun be in that?" she replied, before skipping into Lauren's house.

I shook my head at her. She was crazy. But she was amazing.

BPOV

Oh. My. God. I can't remember a time when I had laughed so damn much in one night. Who knew Edward could be like this? I knew that right now, my feelings for him were growing. Not only did my legs turn to Jell-O when in the presence of his hotness, but he also had an awesome personality—something I had thought he was sorely lacking, but clearly I was wrong about that.

I briefly wondered what would've happened if I had met up with E.C. Would I have gotten the chance to talk to Edward tonight? Or would I still be with E.C. in the cosy space near the shed? Even though I felt bad for not seeing him, I was happy with how the night had turned out. I got to talk to Edward, and could finally see a possibility of friendship. I just hoped I hadn't jeopardized the one I had with E.C. I would email him tonight and apologize—tell him I'd gotten his message too late and that I'd tried looking for him, because it was the truth, and also a perfectly valid reason. I knew he would understand. I hoped he would understand. _Please understand._

Edward caught up to me and we both went looking for Emmett. Surprisingly, Emmett was sober—but I supposed Alice would've made sure of that before relying on him to drive everyone back—, yet unsurprisingly, he didn't want to leave. Reason being Rosalie actually giving him the time of day. Well, night, _but you know what I mean._

"Oh, come on, dude, don't be a party pooper!" Emmett wailed. "I wanna stay here for a bit—and so does Rose," he said, smiling at her while she snuggled into his side.

"Yeah, I kinda do wanna stay here for a bit," Rosalie said, "so if you guys want, you can take my car home, and Emmett will just drop me off." _That _was unexpected. Since when did she loan out her car? She must really like spending time with Emmett. "Wow, I can't believe I just offered you my car. I _never_ do that. If anything is screwed up when I come to get it, there will be hell to pay." _Ahh, that's better._ More Rosalie-like.

"I'm leaving now—if you want you can catch a ride with me," said Victoria, appearing next to Edward. "It's no trouble," she added. I decided that getting a lift with Victoria was probably the best option. I was too scared to take Rosalie's car. Apparently, Edward thought the same.

"Thanks, Victoria, that would be great!" said Edward, "Is it okay with you, Bella?"

"Yeah, of course! Thanks heaps, Victoria."

"Cool. Let's go then! Bye Emmett, bye Rose."

And so we left with Victoria.

Once we were all seated in the car, Victoria asked us, "So where did you guys head off to? I haven't seen you all night!"

"Oh, well we were just at the playground," I said, sounding a little lame.

"And..." she pressed.

"We were just talking," said Edward, sounding kind of embarrassed.

So was I, even though we had nothing to be embarrassed about. Her insinuation just made me blush.

"If you say so," said Victoria, knowingly. Well, that was awkward. "Okay, I'm sorry. I'll change the subject now. What do you guys reckon is gonna happen with the musical. Lame as it is, I'm still itching to find out who I got cast as."

"Ah, I know what you mean!" said Edward, "I really wanna know who I'll have to play, even though I'm not very keen on actually doing it."

"Hmm, I reckon you'd make a good Ron," said Victoria.

"Are you serious?! No way am I playing Ron!"

"Well with that reddish hair of yours, I wouldn't blame Aro if he cast you as Ron. I know I would."

"Well what about Bella?"

"Hmm... Hermione Granger."

"What the fuck? No! As if I'm her! She's so anal about everything," I protested.

"Well, I couldn't think of anyone else! And I love Hermione, she's hilarious," laughed Victoria.

"Okay, well if we're going by hair color, then you're Ginny."

"I can live with that. Although if I get cast as her, it means I'll have to kiss whoever gets cast as Harry. That might be awkward." _Yeah, it would be. _Not for her, though. I was just pondering what would happen if I was in that situation. Although I saw no reason for Aro to cast me as Ginny—after all, Ginny had red hair and I had brown. But man it would suck if I got cast as Ginny and consequently was forced to make-out with, say, Eric? No, Mike? Nah, they wouldn't get the part._ Shit, I hope they don't get the part. _But then who would?

"Anyway, where do you guys live? I completely forgot to ask even though I'm supposed to be dropping you off."

Edward spoke first. "Actually, I live just on the street coming up on the left right now." So we said our goodbyes and dropped Edward off. And then there were two.

"'Kay, so my house is a little trickier to find. I'll give directions as we go." Which I did, and a few minutes later we pulled up in front of my house. "Thanks so much for the ride, Victoria."

"No problem," she said, smiling.

"Cool, so I'll see you at school on Monday then? ...wait—crap! Do you know the way out of here? Shit, I'm so sorry I—"

"Relax, Bella—I can find my way home," she said, "I live next door." But she sounded off, as if she should've known about this sooner. _Weird._

"Serious?"

"Yeah! I'm surprised you live here 'cause it's kinda far from everyone else. Not that far, obviously, I mean it's still Forks, but most people live near Lauren or Edward."

"Yeah, well, my dad won't let go of this house—my family has had it for ages, so I guess it has a lot of sentimental value."

"Ah, well we just moved in, obviously, but I just live with my brother, James."

"You have a brother?"

"Yeah, I do." She smiled.

"How old is he? Does he go to Forks High? Have I seen him around?" _Okay, Bella, no need to interrogate her..._

"Nah, he graduated a while ago. It's just me that's still in school."

"So it's just you guys living here then? What about your parents?" Victoria was starting to look a tad uncomfortable. _Enough with the questions, Bella! _

"They...umm...well, they are a long story." And also none of my business. _Take the hint, Bella._ "Anyway, I should go, James is probably wondering where I am right now." She started pulling out of the driveway. "Bye Bella."

"See ya." I waved, before heading inside.

**A/N: So not much happened in this chapter cuz I felt that if I kept going, I wouldn't be able to stop and the chapter would get too long. Plus, I was all for E/B bonding time ;-) Next chapter will be more interesting (I hope) :P Just curious—have any of you guys ever played the Penis Game? After watching (500) Days of Summer, my friends and I can't _not _do it. Ahh, so much fun. He he. Anywho, review & tell me about any funny/embarrassing games that you've played before, cuz I'd love to hear from ya ;)**

**sunshinelollypops x**


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